LOOK UP, ALEXANDRIA: Stealth Bombers, Fighter Jets and a Possible World Record Fireworks Show Are Coming to Our Backyard
First air show starts Wednesday, June 24 includes B-2 Stealth Bomber among other aircraft
ALEXANDRIA, VA – If you hear an unfamiliar roar overhead this week, don’t be alarmed. A stealth bomber is coming to Washington. So are fighter jets, military formations, and, if organizers pull it off, the largest fireworks display in history.
And for Alexandrians, much of it may be visible right from our own waterfront.
We have a pretty good track record around here of finding reasons to gather along the Potomac. Tall ships. Summer solstice sunrises. French fighter jets over Mount Vernon just this week.
Now add a B-2 stealth bomber to the list.
According to a Freedom 250 announcement posted on Instagram, the June 24 kickoff of the nation’s 250th birthday celebration will feature “a rare flyover by the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber alongside an F-35A formation flight and a patriotic demonstration by the F-16 Viper Demo Team.”
That’s not something you see every day.
The B-2, with its distinctive bat-wing shape and radar-evading design, is among the rarest aircraft in the U.S. military inventory. Most of us have only seen one on television.
And now it will be flying over the Potomac.
So when should Alexandrians look up?
The exact timing of military flyovers can change due to weather and operational requirements, but Freedom 250 festivities are expected to begin in the early evening.
Wednesday, June 24
Look skyward between approximately 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Expected aircraft:
- B-2 Spirit stealth bomber
- F-35A Lightning II formation
- Air Force F-16 Viper Demo Team
Thursday, June 25
Again, the best viewing window is expected to be 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Expected aircraft include:
- B-52 Stratofortress
- F-15 Eagle
- F/A-18 Super Hornet
- F-35C Lightning II
According to visitor information published by Congressman Scott Fitzgerald’s office for Freedom 250, the Great American State Fair opens June 25 and runs through July 10 on the National Mall, with aerial demonstrations among the featured attractions.
For Alexandria residents, the best viewing spots are likely to be Waterfront Park, Oronoco Bay Park, Jones Point Park, and just about anywhere along the river with an unobstructed view north toward Washington.
But the really big show is still ahead.
On its official website, Freedom 250 promises “the largest fireworks display in history.”
That’s not journalistic exaggeration. That’s literally what the organizers are claiming.
The organization says the July 4 celebration will feature:
“850,000 fireworks shells launched from 10 sites: Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, 8 Potomac River barges, and West Potomac Park.”
The same webpage describes the event as:
“The capstone of America’s 250th anniversary brings hundreds of thousands of visitors to the Washington Monument grounds and surrounding areas for a full day of performances, flyovers, first time aerobatic demonstrations over DC, and a live broadcast evening program—culminating with the largest fireworks display in history.”
Those are bold words.
And the pyrotechnics company behind the display isn’t exactly tempering expectations.
Jodi Dague, marketing director for Pyrotecnico, told reporters:”We are shooting to break the record.”
The current Guinness World Record was set in the Philippines in 2016 with 810,904 fireworks shells. Freedom 250 organizers believe Washington can surpass it. Rachel Reisner of Freedom 250 told Axios, “This will culminate in a breathtaking fireworks finale that will shatter world records and stand as the most spectacular firework display the world has ever seen.”
Thunderbirds. Blue Angels. F-22 Raptors.
The aerial displays aren’t limited to opening week.
Freedom 250 advertisements say July 4 festivities are expected to feature the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, the Blue Angels, the F-22 Raptor Demo Team, Marine Corps F-35B demonstrations and historic military flyovers.
Flying out of Reagan? Read this first.
The celebrations won’t just affect people looking up. They may affect people trying to take off.
NBC Washington reported this month that no flights are scheduled at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after noon on July 4.
That’s a pretty astonishing sentence if you stop and think about it.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority is advising travelers to keep a close eye on their itineraries.
In a public statement reported by NBC Washington, the agency warned, “Ticketed passengers on flights at Reagan National Airport (DCA) this summer are advised to closely monitor the status of their flights for adjustments during America 250 celebrations in Washington, D.C.”
The Airports Authority added, “Many events will include downtown flyovers or other aerial displays such as fireworks or parachute jumps, which will affect flights periodically at Reagan National.”
Dates likely to affect flights include:
- June 24-25: Opening flyovers
- June 28: Military Appreciation Day
- July 3: Independence Day rehearsals
- July 4: Major airspace restrictions and fireworks
- July 10: Closing flyover and parachute jump
Reuters also reported that airlines are already adjusting schedules because of the planned closures and temporary airspace restrictions.
Alexandria Has a Front-Row Seat
Maybe Freedom 250 will break a world record.
Maybe it won’t.
But one thing seems certain.
This summer, Alexandrians are going to hear fighter jets overhead, watch military aircraft streak across the sky and see fireworks on a scale most of us have never witnessed before.
Sometimes history happens in books.
And sometimes it happens right overhead.
You might want to look up.
