Most advanced fighter jet, F-35A, set to headline Colorado airshow

Although Tom Cruise likely won’t being flying it, “Top Gun”-style planes will soon grace the Colorado sky!

The U.S. Air Force’s F-35A Lightning II Demonstration Team will headline the 2026 Pikes Peak Regional Airshow Sept. 19–20, bringing one of the most advanced fighter aircraft in the world to the skies over the Front Range.

“You’re going to feel this one in your chest,” the airshow said in announcing the headliner this week on social media as tickets went on sale Wednesday morning.

The two-day show, hosted in partnership with the National Museum of World War II Aviation and the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation, returns after what organizers called a record-setting 2024 event. The 2026 edition features a lineup that spans seven decades of military aviation, from World War II warbirds to the fifth-generation stealth fighter that represents the current cutting edge of American air power.

Beyond the F-35A, confirmed performers include the U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler Demonstration Team, the NASA Super Guppy — a massive wide-bodied cargo aircraft used to transport spacecraft components — and the U.S. Air Force Academy’s Wings of Blue parachute team, which will jump from a B-17G Texas Raiders, one of the few remaining airworthy examples of the iconic World War II bomber.

The F-35A Lightning II is a single-seat, single-engine stealth fighter built by Lockheed Martin to serve multiple roles including air superiority, ground attack, reconnaissance and electronic warfare. Powered by a Pratt & Whitney F135 turbofan engine producing up to 43,000 pounds of thrust with afterburner, the aircraft reaches a maximum speed of Mach 1.6 — roughly 1,200 miles per hour — with a service ceiling above 50,000 feet and a combat radius of approximately 1,380 miles on internal fuel.

Tickets are available at pprairshow.org. Doors open at 8 a.m. both days.