Blue Angels Get a Little Help From Their Friends
When it comes to choreographed spectacles, it’s hard to beat the precision of a military demonstration team — unless, that is, you’ve got members of two military demonstration teams performing together.
The Navy’s flight demonstration squadron, the Blue Angels, teamed up with fellow units for two separate events as it got performance-ready for its 2023 season.
The squadron’s F/A-18 jets joined their Air Force counterparts, the Thunderbirds’ F-16s, for a joint training exchange in California. And the Blue Angels’ transport aircraft, a C-130J affectionately known as “Fat Albert,” joined the Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon for a photoshoot in Arizona.
The Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon performed on the Marine Corps Air Station Yuma runway as Fat Albert conducted a flyover—so low that from some perspectives it looked like a fly-under. Photo by Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jade Venegas
The Marines performed various drill sequences as Fat Albert flew overhead. Photo by Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Pranav Ramakrishna
The Yuma performance kicked off the platoon’s 2023 Battle Color Detachment Tour. Photo by Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jade Venegas
About 75 miles west, members of the Blue Angels welcomed the Thunderbirds to their home for winter training, Naval Air Facility El Centro. Photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Bobby Baldock
The two squadrons trained together at El Centro for a week. Fat Albert was there too—on the ground for the squadrons’ celebrated joint formation, the Super Delta. Photo by Air Force Senior Airman Dakota Carter
The Blue Angels and Thunderbirds debuted the Super Delta at El Centro two years ago. They consider it a symbol of the teamwork, discipline, and skill of U.S. service members around the globe. Photo by Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Sarver
Here’s what the Super Delta looks like in action:
The Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds are co-headlining this weekend’s Point Mugu Air Show in Ventura County, California, and are welcoming military families for a special viewing of the rehearsal on Friday.
The original post of this article was published on this site - RLTW
