Blue Angels jets fly as thousands gathered at Jones Beach for the Bethpage Air Show in New York on May 29. Photo: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The U.S. Navy Blue Angels on Monday selected the first female fighter jet pilot to join their elite flight demonstration squadron.
Driving the news: Lt. Amanda Lee will join the Blue Angels for the 2023 air show season as an F/A-18E/F Super Hornet pilot, according to a press release. She was selected alongside five other new members.
- The Blue Angels selected another F/A-18E/F Super Hornet pilot, an events coordinator, a C-130J Super Hercules pilot, an aviation maintenance officer and a flight surgeon to join its rank, in addition to Lee.
- They will replace outgoing officers of the 17-member squadron.
What they're saying: "We had an overwhelming number of applicants from all over the globe this year," Capt. Brian Kesselring, commanding officer and flight leader of the Blue Angels, said in a statement.
- “We look forward to training our fantastic new team members, passing on the torch, and watching the incredible things this team will accomplish in 2023," he added.
Background: The Thunderbirds, the U.S. Air Force's premier flight demonstration team, selected Col. Nicole Malachowski as its first female pilot in 2005.