$136 Million In Flames: Why The US Military Still Risks Jets At Air Shows

The fiery mid-air collision of two EA-18G Growler jets over Idaho has reignited a longstanding question:
why does the US military risk elite crews and multimillion-dollar warplanes for public entertainment?

The crash during the Gunfighter Skies Air Show at Mountain Home Air Force Base destroyed two rare Navy aircraft worth roughly $136 million combined — and could easily have killed all four crew members aboard.

Miraculously, every aviator ejected safely.

But the incident has once again exposed the enormous cost — financial and human — behind America’s military air show culture.

The Pentagon’s Flying Showrooms

The Growler Airshow Team is part of a much larger Pentagon tradition built around military demonstration flying.

The best-known teams are:

• Blue Angels

• Thunderbirds

For decades, they have dazzled crowds with impossibly tight formations, low-altitude passes and high-speed aerobatics designed to showcase American military precision and technological superiority.

But critics argue they are also hugely expensive flying PR campaigns.

A 2012 US Navy cost-benefit analysis estimated the Blue Angels alone cost nearly $99 million annually to operate.

According to the study, the direct recruiting return was less than $1 million — a disastrous financial ratio by ordinary government standards.

Even when broader “goodwill” benefits were included, researchers still concluded:
“The costs outweigh the benefits.”

Why The Military Keeps Doing It

Former fighter pilot John Venable says the Pentagon sees the issue differently.

Military leaders believe air shows help maintain public support, inspire recruitment and strengthen ties between civilians and the armed forces.

“The real purpose of a military air show is to give people a sense of the precision and professionalism of the military,” Venable explained.

Smaller demonstration teams like the Growlers also allow the military to reach communities that cannot host major headline acts like the Blue Angels.

Supporters argue those events create what Venable called “connective tissue” between the armed forces and the public — especially in regions with strong military traditions.

A History Written In Crashes

But air show flying has always carried extreme risks.

Jets perform:

• At very low altitude

• At high speed

• In tight formation

• Often within fractions of seconds from disaster

America’s demonstration teams have suffered fatal accidents repeatedly over the decades.

Among the most infamous:

• The 1982 “Diamond Crash” that killed four Thunderbird pilots

• A deadly B-52 practice crash in 1994

• Fatal Blue Angels and Thunderbird accidents in recent years

Now the Idaho collision joins that grim list.

The financial loss is also significant because the Growler fleet is no longer in full production.

Replacing destroyed aircraft could prove difficult and expensive, particularly as the Pentagon increasingly focuses resources on preparing for potential future conflict with China.

More Than Entertainment

To critics, air shows increasingly resemble dangerous Cold War relics that burn taxpayer money for spectacle.

To supporters, they are strategic public outreach tools that maintain military prestige, recruitment pipelines and national morale.

The Pentagon clearly still believes the benefits outweigh the risks.

But every time a jet explodes before a crowd — and every time billions of dollars of advanced hardware are risked for a few minutes of aerial theatre — the argument starts all over again.

SOURCE

Actually, I think that figure is much devalued. I read $125M each.

The effort is about supporting "our boys" in any military misadventure and exclusionary policies govt decides. No longer the WWII Army where people actually believed in the fight.