DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- Dover Air Force Base held the 2022 Thunder Over Dover Airshow and Open House, opening the base to host more than 75,000 members of the community May 21-22, 2022.
The theme of this year’s event was “Reunite” and coincided with Armed Forces Day, the Air Force’s 75th Anniversary and featured co-headlining acts the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, and U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds.
“This year is kind of unique, we have two jet teams, it’s kind of unheard of,” said Lt. Col. David Caswell, 436th Operations Group chief of standardization and evaluation and this year’s airshow director. “It’s the only show in America that is planned with the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds [being at the same airshow in 2022].”
In addition to the two headliners, the open house featured modern and vintage aircraft, static displays and aerial demonstrations including the U.S. Marine Corps Harrier demonstration team and a flyover by a B-2A Spirit.
“It’s our opportunity to interact with our local community and give something back to them because they support us in a multitude of ways, and its our time to put a show on for them to demonstrate the capabilities of all Department of Defense assets and people, and really showcase our [Team] Dover Airmen,” said Caswell.
By early Saturday afternoon, the estimated crowd of nearly 45,000 was seated amongst various static displays, including the C-5M Super Galaxy, C-17 Globemaster III, KC-46 Pegasus and several fighter aircraft to watch the aerial performers take to the skies.
“You can stand here and watch the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels and the hair on the back of your neck just rises,” said retired Air Force Master Sgt. Ron Madden, who drove from Sewell, New Jersey, to see the show. “It was fantastic!”
The open house also featured a variety of booths with Science, Technology, Engineering and Math interactive displays, as well as a kid’s zone and many vendor booths from local businesses.
Col. Matt Husemann, 436th Airlift Wing commander, met with many members of the community who attended the weekend’s events, thanking them for their continued support of Team Dover Airmen.
“Thunder Over Dover was phenomenal,” said Husemann. “I would like to say ‘thank you’ to the entire community for coming together, allowing us to showcase air power and provide an opportunity to reunite. Thanks to the entire Delaware area for making this a success, you all rock!”