PACAF F-16 Demo Team conducts final flight before being deactivated
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| USAF Capt. Ethan “Bantam” Smith, PACAF F-16 Demo Team commander, pushes his F-16 to the limit during the team's final flight at Misawa AB, Japan, May 30, 2025. |
After thirty years of inspiring goodwill and promoting positive relations between the U.S. and partner nations across Indo-Pacific and European theaters, the Pacific Air Forces F-16 Demonstration Team conducted its final demonstration flight at Misawa Air Base, Japan, May 30, 2025.
“Personally, I think it’s the best feeling in the world. Only a select few people have ever been the PACAF Demo pilot,” said Capt. Ethan “Bantam” Smith. “It’s truly an honor to be the last PACAF Demo pilot to close out this legacy of 30 years, and I get to be the exclamation point at the end.”
Capt. Smith first joined as one of the team’s safety observers in 2022 before becoming the demo pilot.
“It’s been the most amazing three years being a part of Demo, but now I’m moving to my next assignment,” he added.
The demo team is scheduled to fully deactivate on June 16, 2025, making this the final Demo flight for PACAF’s F-16 Demo Team.
“By then, Bantam will have changed duty stations,” said Master Sgt. Bradley Pippin, PACAF F-16 Demonstration Team superintendent. “The rest of us will be at the American Day event on June 15, taking photos, signing autographs and giving one final farewell to all the people here at Misawa who have supported us since the beginning.”
In a 2007 correspondence between the 35th Fighter Wing historian, Senior Master Sgt. Donald Koser, and the first PACAF F-16 Demonstration Team pilot, Lt. Col. Bryan “Shadow” Turner, recounted the creation of the team.
“Now Chief Master Sgt. Lloyd Muranaka and I stood the team up at Misawa AB starting in mid-summer 1995. Prior to that, PACAF did not have a demonstration team,” Turner said. “The PACAF Commander, Gen. John Lorber (former 35th FW commander) directed Misawa to stand up a team. This enabled PACAF to increase visibility within the region, as well as show our allies (and others watching) the caliber of men, women and air power deployed within the region.”
“Overall, during the first two seasons of the PACAF Demo Team, we traveled over 110,000 miles, performed over 40 shows in 6 countries to over 4 million people, including 7 heads of state.”
According to limited data from various demo pilot accounts, internal documents, and previous PACAF news articles, the PACAF F-16 Demonstration Team performed approximately 400 airshows with an estimated 24.7 million attendees over its 30-year tenure as U.S. Air Force ambassadors.
“It is truly an honor representing not only the USAF but the United States as whole around the world and showing off the jet to millions of people,” said Smith. “For 30 years, the demo team has been inspiring the next generation of pilots and airmen. I’ve even met some Japan Air Self Defense Force cadets at the airshows.”
“Personally, I think it’s the best feeling in the world. Only a select few people have ever been the PACAF Demo pilot,” said Capt. Ethan “Bantam” Smith. “It’s truly an honor to be the last PACAF Demo pilot to close out this legacy of 30 years, and I get to be the exclamation point at the end.”
Capt. Smith first joined as one of the team’s safety observers in 2022 before becoming the demo pilot.
“When I was first selected to be the demonstration pilot, I was ecstatic, a huge honor,” said Smith. “I was a safety observer a year prior to that, and put my hat in the ring for the job and got it! It’s been off to the races ever since.”
“It’s been the most amazing three years being a part of Demo, but now I’m moving to my next assignment,” he added.
The demo team is scheduled to fully deactivate on June 16, 2025, making this the final Demo flight for PACAF’s F-16 Demo Team.
“By then, Bantam will have changed duty stations,” said Master Sgt. Bradley Pippin, PACAF F-16 Demonstration Team superintendent. “The rest of us will be at the American Day event on June 15, taking photos, signing autographs and giving one final farewell to all the people here at Misawa who have supported us since the beginning.”
Since that beginning in 1995, the demo team played a vital role in not only enhancing U.S. relations with Japan, but also with 20 other countries around the world including but not limited to the Philippines, Mexico, United Kingdom, Egypt, India, Republic of Korea, Australia and Malaysia [And most recently Italy].
In a 2007 correspondence between the 35th Fighter Wing historian, Senior Master Sgt. Donald Koser, and the first PACAF F-16 Demonstration Team pilot, Lt. Col. Bryan “Shadow” Turner, recounted the creation of the team.
“Now Chief Master Sgt. Lloyd Muranaka and I stood the team up at Misawa AB starting in mid-summer 1995. Prior to that, PACAF did not have a demonstration team,” Turner said. “The PACAF Commander, Gen. John Lorber (former 35th FW commander) directed Misawa to stand up a team. This enabled PACAF to increase visibility within the region, as well as show our allies (and others watching) the caliber of men, women and air power deployed within the region.”
“Overall, during the first two seasons of the PACAF Demo Team, we traveled over 110,000 miles, performed over 40 shows in 6 countries to over 4 million people, including 7 heads of state.”
According to limited data from various demo pilot accounts, internal documents, and previous PACAF news articles, the PACAF F-16 Demonstration Team performed approximately 400 airshows with an estimated 24.7 million attendees over its 30-year tenure as U.S. Air Force ambassadors.
“It is truly an honor representing not only the USAF but the United States as whole around the world and showing off the jet to millions of people,” said Smith. “For 30 years, the demo team has been inspiring the next generation of pilots and airmen. I’ve even met some Japan Air Self Defense Force cadets at the airshows.”
The demo team conducted its final public performance for 117,000 people at the Yokota Air Base during the Japanese-American Friendship Festival, May 17 and 18, 2025. This event hosted two flying aircraft, the second of which was flown by Col. Matthew Kenkel, the 35th Fighter Wing deputy commander.
“Misawa is transitioning to an F-35 fighter wing as part of U.S. Forces Japan’s broader modernization efforts,” said Kenkel. “Basing the F-35 here is a significant investment in regional security and deepens our integration with Japanese allies. This move doesn’t just enhance our deterrence posture today—it sets the tone for what Misawa will represent over the next 40 years: a forward, ready, and modern force at the edge of the Indo-Pacific.”
Source, Images: 35th Fighter Wing
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