The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds have joined the lineup at the 2026 NAS Jax Air Show, putting them on the same bill with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels.
Kaylee LaRocque, NAS Jacksonville public affairs officer, confirmed by email Dec. 18 that the Thunderbirds are scheduled to perform in the 2026 air show, scheduled for Oct. 17-18 at the air station. The Blue Angels, the Thunderbirds’ Navy counterpart, are the headlining attraction at the show.
LaRocque said the teams would perform separately.
The Blue Angels and Thunderbirds have been at the same air shows at least twice in the past two years. They performed at the 2024 NAS Pensacola Blue Angels Homecoming Air Show and in 2023 at the Point Mugu Air Show in Point Mugu, California.
A 2024 story in the Pensacola News Journal said the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds typically do not perform within 150 miles of each other. That is because they serve as recruitment tools, and the Department of Defense wishes to maximize the reach of each team.
The Thunderbirds, based at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, fly in F-16 Fighting Falcon jets with a red, white and blue paint scheme. The Blue Angels perform in F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft with a blue-and-yellow scheme.
The NAS Jax Air Show is free to attend. Gates are scheduled to open at 9 a.m. each day, with the show beginning at 11 a.m. and culminating at 2:30 p.m. with performances by the Blue Angels.
A practice show that is open to base personnel, their guests and local schoolchildren is scheduled for Oct. 16.
On Dec. 9, the city of Jacksonville announced that the Blue Angels would headline the Jacksonville Sea & Sky Air Show along the Jacksonville Beach coastline in 2027.
The air team is scheduled to perform Oct. 23-24 as part of the free event along with a “wide array of military and civilian air performers,” the city said in a release.
The Blue Angels canceled their performance at the 2025 Jacksonville Sea & Sky Air Show in October because of the federal government shutdown.