The stunning maneuvers flown by US Air Force demo pilots showcase dogfighting skills

• US Air Force demo pilots execute airshow stunts derived from real-world combat training.
• Airshows connection a glimpse into combatant pitchy capabilities and their domiciled successful combat scenarios.
• Air Force demo pilots shared what it's for illustration to wow audiences pinch skills utilized connected nan battlefield.

From a spectator's view, airshows are each astir spectacle — roaring high-speed passes, compact statement flying, and daring aerial aerobatics.

But for Air Force objection pilots, these techniques aren't conscionable crowd-pleasers. They are precise maneuvers derived from real-world combat training — applicable fighting skills that could mean nan quality betwixt life and decease connected nan battlefield.

While a demo pilot's superior ngo is to captivate airshow audiences, they besides connection nan spectators a glimpse into what their subject craft are tin of successful existent combat scenarios.

Air Force Maj. Tyler "Slasher" Clark, a demo aviator connected the Air Force's Thunderbird Demonstration squadron, transitioned to the F-16 Fighting Falcon from his activity arsenic an F-15C evaluator and coach aviator while connected progressive duty.

As a demo pilot, nan purpose is still "the changeless pursuit of perfection, max-performing a subject aircraft, flying connected nan separator of nan envelope, learning not only wherever it tin spell but wherever besides you tin go," Clark told Business Insider successful an question and reply up of nan Pacific Airshow successful Huntington Beach, California. "In that different environment, it applies to nan tactical arena to protect our nation's interests."

The Thunderbirds showcase combatant aviation astatine nan controls of nan Lockheed Martin F-16, a fourth-generation combatant tin of air-to-surface strikes for aerial support and air-defense suppression and air-to-air combat pinch force aircraft.

As nan world's astir celebrated combatant jet, the F-16 is utilized astir nan world, Ukraine being nan jet's newest user. Although nan pitchy has been flying for 50 years, it has been consistently upgraded, allowing it to proceed to service successful important roles, including homeland defense missions and combat successful nan world warfare connected terrorism.

During Thunderbird demo flights, 8 pilots — six statement pilots and 2 solo pilots — put the multirole fighter's capabilities connected display done a bid of tight formations and shocking maneuvers.

Air Force Maj. Jeffrey "Simmer" Downie, a solo aviator connected nan Thunderbirds, logged much than 1,600 formation hours, including astir 400 combat hours serving successful Afghanistan during Operations Freedom Sentinel and Resolute Support.

Downie said that nan show squad exhibits dogfighting skills — close-range air-to-air combat skills — "to group that wouldn't usually get to spot nan subject and acquisition that."

"We get to show a small portion of what we do pinch these jets," Downie said. "So supersonic speeds, arsenic we attack those during our sneak passes that scare everybody, they get a consciousness of what it's for illustration to pursuit down nan enemy, but there's besides slow speed-handling for erstwhile you're fighting different aircraft."

"We get to show that to group to spot nan different regimes of formation and really conscionable what these craft are tin of," he said.

One specified maneuver, nan High Alpha Pass, involves combatant jets approaching spectators astatine a steep angle, hitting speeds of astir 130 mph — which Downie said is "extremely" slow for a pitchy — earlier pulling up, taking a crisp 90-degree roll, and speeding up to 280 mph to clear nan crowd below.

The stunt demonstrates nan fighter's expertise to support power astatine precocious angles of onslaught and debased speeds, which offers a tactical advantage successful combat erstwhile a aviator has to quickly alteration guidance aliases velocity to debar force fire.

Air Force Maj. Samuel "RaZZ" Larson, nan commandant of the F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team, told Business Insider each of nan maneuvers he performs during airshows are "just basal derivations from what we do really successful dogfighting" and item nan specific capabilities of nan Raptor.

"It's nan only combatant successful nan US arsenal that has thrust vectoring, and it's nan astir maneuverable combatant successful nan world," Larson said of nan fifth-generation F-22 Raptor, a Lockheed Martin-manufactured stealth aerial superiority fighter. "We effort to showcase what nan F-22 tin do that different fighters cannot do, and immoderate of nan moves that we usage successful basal combatant maneuvers aliases dogfighting, we showcase successful nan demo."

The F-22 has conducted strikes successful Middle East conflicts, and it has agelong served arsenic a supersonic interceptor, regularly countering Russian aircraft adjacent Alaska arsenic portion of operations pinch North American Aerospace Defense Command. Its first air-to-air kill, however, was against a Chinese spy balloon complete nan continental US.

Air Force Capt. Nicholas "Laz" Le Tourneau, a information perceiver connected nan F-22 demo team, explained that while location are immoderate differences betwixt combat and capacity flying, "nothing that we are doing present is extracurricular of nan purview of an F-22 aviator who is consecutive retired of nan combat Air Forces."

"A batch of these maneuvers are really being performed connected a day-to-day ground up successful nan airspace erstwhile we're executing our missions," Le Tourneau told Business Insider, adding that "it's really a blessing that Raz gets to return that down to nan show and let nan crowd to acquisition that firsthand."

Though nan tenure of fighter pilots connected demo teams only lasts a fistful of years, Clark, nan first Air National Guard aviator to subordinate nan Thunderbirds, said nan pilots, maintainers, and operations unit foster a family-like dynamic.

"There were a batch of parallels and similarities that I besides saw successful nan Air National Guard," Clark said. "You get to cognize each different really well, and sometimes, pinch those dynamics, you tin really build immoderate tight camaraderie and build that spot and spell connected to do and execute really astonishing things."

"That's what attracted maine to nan Guard, and that's besides really what attracted maine to nan Thunderbirds," he said.

And nan similarities betwixt combat and objection flying travel moreover earlier pilots get into nan cockpit.

"A batch of nan worldly that you've seen successful combat is benignant of nan aforesaid for nan airshow successful position of your mentation for that infinitesimal and repeating and knowing your steps, your processes, and really everything's going to work," Downie said, "so erstwhile things do spell crazy successful beforehand of a crowd of 700,000 people, you cognize really to enactment calm, cool, and collected arsenic you do connected a mission."