KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, will return to Knoxville in 2022!
Last year, the elite fighter jet demonstration team announced that its 2022 air show will include 32 stops with 63 flights.
That includes Knoxville on September 10-11, 2022.
The 2022 show will come with a huge change compared to their last performance at the Smoky Mountain Air Show at McGhee Tyson Airport in 2016: new jets!
On December 1, the Blue Angels held a conference at McGhee Tyson Airport to discuss what kind of support they would need while the jets were in town.
The classic F/A-18 Hornets the Blue Angels have flown since the 1980s have been upgraded to more advanced "Super Blue" F/A-18E Super Hornets in 2021.
In 2020, the Blues had to cut their air tour short because of COVID-19.