Established in the late 1920s, the Yuma, Arizona airfield has a long and storied aviation history.

Beginning as a civilian airfield in 1928, the airport evolved to serve the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942 before returning to civilian use after World War II. This airfield subsequently served the United States Air Force (USAF) in 1954 and the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps (USMC) in 1959. Now a mixed-use civilian-military airport, the long-running control tower has shared runways for civilian and commercial flight operations.

Located in the southwestern corner of Arizona and not far from the Mexican border, Yuma’s climate offers perfect weather for all-season flying, a dry environment for equipment testing, and a dry environment for operational training and testing. It offers a large area of ​​dedicated land.

Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Yuma hosts the Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) course (the Marine Corps equivalent of Top Gun) to show instructor pilots how to train other pilots in systems and tactics I am honored to do so. His USMC hostile squadron, the only one to fly F-5N Tigers, brings Yuma home to support WTI and other operational training missions.

Yuma was also one of the first sites to host and test the new Marine Corps version of the F-35B short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft, and hosted its first operational unit in 2012.

For the first time since 2019, the MCAS Yuma 2023 Air Show will be an intimate event under a shaded haven with a small static exhibit area consisting primarily of USMC assets and other contractor and community outreach exhibits was.

The flying portion of the show featured a Parajumper launching from a V-22 Osprey, a CH-53 Sea Stallion, an AH-1Z Viper, a UH-1Y Huey, an MV-22B Osprey, an F/A-18C Legacy Hornet, and an F-35B Lightning II. with a second wave of

The first USAF F-35A demonstration of the season was given by Maj. Christine “Beo” Wolff, who is in her third season as Demo Pilot and Team Commander. Similarly, the USAF Heritage Flight was conducted with Steve Hinton Jr. and his venerable P-51D Mustang, flying in close formation with the F-35A.

The MV-22B Osprey demonstrated its ability as a fast-flying aircraft in front of the audience, converting to vertical flight mode, but not before the aftershock of the jet fire engine, but to the delight of the audience.

The US Marine Corps F-35B STOVL demonstrated all aspects of the B Model’s capabilities, culminating in a vertical landing at Shaw Center to the delight of the local crowd.

This air show, demonstrating the capabilities of the Marine Corps, was held for the first time in four years. It was a well-organized and efficient show, finishing early in the afternoon before the heat of the day and allowing for the best lighting.