U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds to headline 2023 Bethpage Air Show 

The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds again will headline the Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach next Memorial Day weekend, event organizers said.

The 19th annual air show is scheduled for May 27 and 28, and the Thunderbirds' appearance will mark their ninth performance at the popular event.

“Suffice to say, we couldn’t be happier to welcome the team back to Long Island for our 2023 show,” said George Gorman, Regional Director, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, in a statement.    

In 2021, the Thunderbirds changed their schedule to perform at the show on Memorial Day, after that holiday weekend's Saturday and Sunday shows were rained out, Gorman said.

The U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team and the U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lighting II also will be among those performing at the 2023 show, along with the Skytypers and American Airpower Museum Warbirds, organizers said. 

The Golden Knights are famed not just for aerobatic maneuvers — featuring those crimson trails of smoke — but for planting the U.S. flag front and center of the boardwalk.

It also was announced that the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, who soared before a crowd of about 180,000 at this year's air show, will be back, but not until the 2024 air show.

"Yes, the Blue Angels are coming; they will be at the air show in 2024, that's exciting news," Gorman said.

It will be that team’s 10th performance at the extravaganza.

The list of other performers for the 2024 show has yet to be released.