Blue Angels Get a Little Help From Their Friends

Department of Defense | Mar. 16, 2023

By Press Operations

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.

Marines stand in formation holding out rifles as an aircraft flies above.
Flight and Formation The U.S. Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon executes a drill sequence while the ""Fat Albert,"" a C-130J Super Hercules, performs a flyover at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., Feb. 28, 2023. The aircraft is assigned to the Blue Angels, the Navy's flight demonstration squadron. Photo By:Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Gideon Schippers
Aircraft fly in formation over a flat area leaving trails of smoke behind them.
Sharing the Sky The Thunderbirds, the Air Force flight demonstration squadron, and the Blue Angels, the Navy’s flight demonstration squadron, perform joint training over Naval Air Facility El Centro, Calif., Feb. 28, 2023. The Thunderbirds and Blue Angels spent a week sharing best practices and exchanging lessons learned in preparation for the upcoming air show season. Photo By:Air Force Senior Airman Dakota Carter

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 Super Hornets flew with their Air Force counterparts, the Thunderbirds' F-16 Fighting Falcons, during 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.

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The Silent Drill Platoon performed on the Marine Corps Air Station Yuma runway as Fat Albert flew overhead. Photo by Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jade Venegas
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The Marines executed various drill sequences during the low flyover—which from some perspectives looked like a fly-under. Photo by Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Pranav Ramakrishna
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The Yuma performance kicked off the Marine Corps' 2023 Battle Color Detachment Tour. Photo by Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jade Venegas
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About 70 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
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The two squadrons trained together at El Centro for a week. Fat Albert was there too—on the ground for the teams' celebrated joint formation, the Super Delta. Photo by Air Force Senior Airman Dakota Carter
Aircraft fly in formation over an aircraft on a landing strip.
Super Delta The Navy and Air Force flight demonstration squadrons, the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds, debut the Super Delta formation over a C-130J Super Hercules at Naval Air Facility El Centro, Calif., March 2, 2021. Photo By: Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Sarver 



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.