Blue Angels Name First Female Fighter Jet Demonstration Pilot

Navy Lt. Amanda Lee will become the aerial acrobatics team's first female F/A-18E/F demonstration pilot in the coming season.

Kimberly Johnson

Tuesday, July 19, 2022 at 03:56 PM ET

Verified

Lt. Amanda Lee, a F/A-18E/F demonstration pilot currently assigned to the "Gladiators" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 106. [Courtesy: Department of Defense]

Key Takeaways:

Lt. Amanda Lee has been selected as the first woman to serve as a fighter jet flight demonstration pilot for the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels team.
Her appointment for the 2023 season marks a significant historical milestone, as previous women on the team served in roles such as transport pilots but not as fighter jet demonstration pilots.
This is not Lee's first time making history; she previously flew in the Navy's first all-female flyover in 2019, honoring pioneering female aviator Capt. Rosemary Mariner.

See a mistake? Contact us.

For the first time in its nearly 80-year history, the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels aerial demonstration team will have a woman in the cockpit as a fighter jet flight demonstration pilot.

The Navy announced that Lt. Amanda Lee, a F/A-18E/F demonstration pilot currently assigned to the “Gladiators” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 106 based at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Virginia, had been selected to join the Blue Angels team for the 2023 season.