Airshow returns to JBLM after 7 year hiatus

After a seven-year hiatus, the Joint Base Lewis-McChord Airshow returns this month.

“The JBLM Airshow & Warrior Expo is a great way to thank the Puget Sound community for their support of Service members and military families,” JBLM told the Tacoma News Tribune in an email.

The event returns Saturday and Sunday, July 15 and 16, from 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Entrance to the show is free, but there are seating upgrades.

“After not having an airshow for seven years, we felt it was very important to bring the airshow back in 2023,” JBLM said.

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For the first time, this year’s event will have a vintage car display.

The event will feature aerial acts from the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, U.S. Army helicopters, a B-17 Flying Fortress, as well as a live historical reenactment of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

There will be more than 60 Air Force, Army, and civilian aircraft and ground vehicles on display.

“These displays have come from across the country to provide our Puget Sound Great American Defense Community the opportunity to showcase these military capabilities and to interact with you in a personal and dynamic way,” Lt. Colonel Timothy J. Rawson, event director, wrote on the show’s website.

“Our JBLM Airshow & Warrior Expo demonstrates our service members’ readiness and helps to educate the public through demonstrations of our weapons’ systems and capabilities,” Rawson explained.