AutoMatters & More: New inspirations at the 2025 MCAS Miramar AirShow — “America’s Air Show”

The MCAS Miramar AirShow continues to inspire audiences with new additions, while continuing with the traditions that visitors look forward to.

The welcoming ceremonies featured the USMC 3D MAW Marching Band, Mounted Color Guard and USSOCOM ParaCommandos.

New to the airshow this year was the incredible USMC Silent Drill Platoon. Premiering at Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C. during the sunset parades of 1958, the USMC Silent Drill Platoon executed their marching and rifle drill with absolute precision — without cadence or verbal commands. Their M1 rifles, with fixed bayonets, weigh in excess of 10-1/2 pounds.

The Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) demonstration — in the air and on the ground — was an explosive display of U.S. Marine Corps power, in which men and women of the U.S. Marine Corps performed a simulated combat assault, complete with pyrotechnics (explosions!). As F/A-18 “Hornet” and F-35 “Lightning II” aircraft flew overhead, helicopter-borne Marines rappelled from the sky, and infantry platoons moved in on their objective in armored vehicles. The MAGTF demo concluded with one utterly enormous explosion along the flight line. To get an idea of its size, take a look at how tiny the truck trailer looks in my photo.

“Warbirds over Miramar: The History of USMC Aviation” was a soaring tribute to the evolution of Marine Corps aviation, through the decades.

A wide variety of aircraft representing the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Coast Guard, law enforcement and others were on static display on the ground. Many offered visitors the opportunity to get inside.

Also on the ground was a wide variety of other exhibits, food and merchandise vendors, and more. Precision Exotics “Precision Air Show Performance” combined runway drag races between cars and aircraft, while their “Precision Extreme Drive” gave members of the audience an opportunity to personally experience speeds of up to 150 mph on a controlled, wide runway.

The U.S. Navy Blue Angels — one of the most celebrated flight demonstration teams in the world — headlined “AMERICA’S AIR SHOW,” supported by a maintenance and support team of over 140 people.

As James B. Wellons, Major General, U.S. Marine Corps — Commanding General of the Third Marine Aircraft Wing, and R. Erik Herrmann, Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps — Commanding Office of MCAS Miramar wrote in their opening welcome address, for the air show program, “America’s Air Show reflects our people-centric organization built by Marines, Sailors, and their families.” This emphasis on the importance of people, who work tirelessly, was on full display at the air show.

I experienced and sincerely appreciated this first-hand on Friday afternoon, as I was trying in vain to speak on my cellphone with the Excalibur Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, to finalize my upcoming hotel reservations (so that I could cover the SEMA Show and CES). I had been unable to find a quiet place to make that phone call. I was standing as far away as I could get from the flightline, close to some vegetation and a building. Intermittently, very loud aircraft flew overhead during my phone conversation, which made it impossible for me to hear the person at the hotel.

To the rescue came a woman who was part of an ENVIRONMENTAL crew at the airshow. After learning of my predicament, she led me around to the side of the building and invited me to get inside one of their trucks. I was loaded down and restricted by my two heavy professional cameras, a stuffed shoulder bag and a backpack, so she then cleared their supplies off of the passenger seat and helped me get into the truck, so that she could close the door behind me.

Being in that quiet space made all the difference in the world, enabling me to successfully make my two hotel reservations. I took a selfie of me wedged into the truck, to send to the person who patiently waited every time that loud planes flew overhead, and to help remind me about this act of kindness of others. It will be a fond, lasting memory of the 2025 MCAS Miramar AirShow.

To learn more about the MCAS Miramar AirShow — “America’s Air Show,” visit: https://miramarairshow.com.

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Copyright © 2025 by Jan Wagner – AutoMatters & More #901