Defenders of Liberty Air Show

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Defenders of Liberty Air Show

The official page for the Defenders of Liberty Airshow at Barksdale AFB in Louisiana.

The Barksdale Air Force Base Air Show allows Shreveport-Bossier City to showcase the home of the B-52, grant access to tour the military installation, view military and aerobatic performers, and support the recruiting arm of our armed forces.

09/07/2026

Long before Barksdale became home to the B-52, the 2nd Bomb Wing, Eighth Air Force, and Air Force Global Strike Command, it was a construction site.

Work began in 1931, transforming thousands of acres in Bossier Parish into a military airfield. Laborers cleared and graded the land, built roads and runways, raised hangars, barracks, offices, and a hospital, and installed the infrastructure required to support one of the largest airfields of its time. When Barksdale Field was formally dedicated on February 2, 1933, those workers had created the foundation for more than nine decades of military aviation.

The work never stopped. During World War II, Barksdale became a training center for aircrews and combat units. In the decades that followed, generations of military personnel, federal civilian employees, contractors, tradespeople, and local businesses kept the installation operating through the Cold War, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and the missions of the present day.

A B-52 in the air represents far more than the crew aboard it. Maintainers inspect and repair the aircraft. Fuel specialists, weapons personnel, logisticians, engineers, firefighters, medical teams, security forces, airfield crews, and countless others provide the support that makes every sortie possible. Much of that work happens away from public view, but none of Barksdale’s history could have been written without it.

This Labor Day, we recognize the people who built Barksdale, those who sustained it through more than 90 years of service, and everyone whose work continues to support its mission today.

09/06/2026

On September 6, 1945, Lieutenant General Hitoshi Imamura of the Imperial Japanese Army formally signed the instrument of surrender aboard HMS Glory, anchored off Rabaul, New Britain. This ceremony marked the capitulation of over 100,000 Japanese troops stationed in the New Guinea and Solomon Islands area. Vice Admiral Junichi Kusaka of the Imperial Japanese Navy co-signed the document, while Lieutenant General Vernon Sturdee of the Australian Army accepted the surrender on behalf of the Allied forces.

In the final stages of World War II, Rabaul had become one of Japan's most fortified strongholds in the South Pacific. Following the Allied advances in 1943 and 1944, Japanese forces in the area were effectively isolated through a campaign of strategic bypassing, rendering Rabaul militarily impotent despite the large garrison. By August 1945, after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Japan's subsequent announcement of surrender, Allied command moved to secure formal surrenders from scattered Japanese forces throughout the Pacific.

The surrender at Rabaul was significant due to the sheer number of personnel involved and the symbolic closure it provided to years of intense combat in the region. The event ensured a peaceful transition of control and allowed for the repatriation of Japanese troops and the restoration of civil governance in New Britain and surrounding territories.

📸 Australian War Memorial

09/05/2026

Things that are true for $500, Alex...😂

What's your favorite family-friendly aviation meme?

09/04/2026

On September 4, 1943, Texas-born fighter pilot Lt. Col. Neel E. Kearby opened his remarkable combat record over New Guinea with two aerial victories in a P-47 Thunderbolt.

Kearby was leading the 348th Fighter Group, the first P-47 unit sent to the Southwest Pacific. The Thunderbolt had been designed for high-altitude combat over Europe, and some doubted whether the large, heavy fighter could compete against the lighter and more maneuverable Japanese aircraft encountered in the Pacific.

Kearby understood that trying to turn with those fighters at low altitude wasted the P-47’s strengths. Instead, the 348th climbed high, used the Thunderbolt’s turbosupercharged engine to gain an altitude advantage, and attacked from above at high speed. After firing, the pilots used the energy from the dive to climb away and prepare for another pass.

During the fighting on September 4, Kearby was credited with destroying a Mitsubishi G4M bomber and a Nakajima Ki-43 fighter. They were the first two of the 22 aerial victories he would earn during his brief combat career.

Five weeks later, Kearby led four P-47s against a much larger Japanese formation near Wewak. He personally destroyed six aircraft during the October 11 engagement, becoming the first U.S. Army Air Forces fighter pilot credited with six victories on one mission. The action earned him the Medal of Honor.

Kearby became the highest-scoring P-47 pilot in the Pacific, but he did not survive the war. He was shot down and killed near Wewak on March 5, 1944.

Have you ever heard of him?

09/03/2026

to the 2021 Defenders of Liberty Air Show! This P-51D nicknamed "Swamp Fox" served multiple Air National Guard Units before retiring in 1957 and ultimately being restored from 2007 to 2012. This fighter pays homage to the original "Swamp Fox" P-51D that served in England during WWII.

The original was piloted by Lt. Col. Will Foard, USAF (ret.), then a young USAAF lieutenant, who grew up in the Carolinas. Since he was flying and fighting out of England, Will thought it would be funny to name his plane after the famous American Revolutionary hero from South Carolina, Col Francis Marion, who, hated by the British, was given the moniker “Swamp Fox.”

Today, you'll find this beautiful Mustang flying at airshows all over the country, including our own!

Have you ever seen Swamp Fox in person?

09/02/2026

in 1996, Barksdale-based B-52H Stratofortresses carried out one of the longest combat missions in aviation history during Operation Desert Strike. Aircrews of the 96th Bomb Squadron, temporarily deployed to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, launched 13 conventional air-launched cruise missiles against Iraqi air defense targets. The mission lasted roughly 34 hours and covered about 14,000 miles round-trip, marking the first combat use of the B-52H variant.

The strike was ordered after Iraqi forces advanced into the Kurdish city of Erbil on August 31, violating established agreements and raising concerns of wider conflict. To respond quickly and decisively, the United States employed a combination of Navy Tomahawk launches and Air Force B-52 cruise missile strikes. The mission demonstrated the unique ability of Barksdale's bomber force to project power across continents without reliance on forward bases.

In recognition of their accomplishment, the 96th Bomb Squadron crews received the 1996 Mackay Trophy for the most meritorious flight of the year. The operation underscored the adaptability of the B-52 fleet, transitioning from its Cold War nuclear role to precision conventional missions. It also reinforced the enduring role of Barksdale Air Force Base as a cornerstone of America's global strike capability.

09/01/2026

in 2021, two U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortresses from the 2nd Bomb Wing flew in formation with Indonesian Air Force F-16s during a Bomber Task Force mission over the Indo-Pacific. The flight marked the first time a B-52 had integrated in flight with the Indonesian Air Force.

This milestone grew from recurring Bomber Task Force deployments designed to place American bombers forward for training with regional partners. For the September 1 mission, two B-52s assigned to Barksdale Air Force Base worked with four Indonesian F-16s from Iswahyudi Air Force Base, conducting es**rt and formation work as part of theater integration.

The relationship deepened in June 2023, when B-52s made their first deployment to Indonesia and supported exercise Cope West, underscoring a longer-term pattern of cooperative training and access that followed the 2021 integration.

📸 Indonesian Air Force

08/31/2026

on August 31, 1977, Soviet test pilot Aleksandr Fedotov took a specially modified MiG-25 to an altitude no airplane has officially surpassed.

Fedotov climbed to 37,650 meters, or 123,523 feet, during a carefully planned zoom climb. The aircraft used its engines to accelerate and climb steeply, then continued upward on momentum as its airspeed fell. It could not remain at that altitude in level flight, but the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale recognized the flight as an absolute altitude record for a ground-launched airplane. Nearly five decades later, it still stands.

The record-setting aircraft was a modified MiG-25 identified for record purposes as the Ye-266M. Its operational counterpart, known to NATO as the Foxbat, had been developed as a high-speed interceptor capable of confronting American bombers and reconnaissance aircraft at extreme altitudes.

Its enormous Tumansky turbojets gave the MiG-25 a maximum speed of approximately Mach 2.83. Much of the airframe was made from welded nickel-steel rather than the titanium construction once imagined by Western analysts. It was powerful, relatively straightforward, and built around a very specific Cold War mission: climb quickly, fly high, and intercept a threat before it reached its target.

The West had gained its first close examination of a MiG-25 only the year before Fedotov’s record. In September 1976, Soviet pilot Viktor Belenko defected to Japan in a Foxbat, allowing American and Japanese specialists to study an aircraft that had generated years of concern among Western intelligence agencies.

Fedotov’s climb did not prove that the MiG-25 could cruise at 123,523 feet, but it demonstrated just how much performance engineers had extracted from an aircraft designed to operate near the limits of speed, altitude, heat, and available technology.

08/29/2026

On August 29, 1970, the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 prototype made its maiden flight from Long Beach Airport in California to Edwards Air Force Base. The aircraft, the company's first entry into the widebody jet market, was designed to compete with contemporaries like the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar and the Boeing 747. Pilots and engineers used this initial flight to evaluate basic handling characteristics, systems performance, and to lay the groundwork for the comprehensive flight test program required for Federal Aviation Administration certification.

Development of the DC-10 began in the mid-1960s, when McDonnell Douglas sought to produce a high-capacity, long-range jetliner that could operate from existing airports while offering airlines greater efficiency and flexibility. The resulting design was a three-engine, low-wing aircraft with two turbofans mounted under the wings and a third in the tail. The DC-10-10 variant was intended for medium-range routes, tailored primarily for U.S. domestic carriers such as American Airlines, which was the launch customer.

The DC-10's airframe later served as the basis for the KC-10 Extender, an advanced aerial refueling and transport aircraft developed for the United States Air Force. Introduced in the early 1980s, the KC-10 featured an in-flight refueling boom, hose-and-drogue system, and a greatly extended range, enabling it to support both U.S. and allied aircraft worldwide. It played a vital role in operations from the Cold War through the Gulf War, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and numerous humanitarian missions. Praised for its payload capacity and versatility, the KC-10 remained in service for four decades before being gradually retired beginning in 2020, with its final USAF mission flown in 2023.

08/28/2026

to the 2025 Defenders of Liberty Air Show at Barksdale Air Force Base.

For two days, thousands of visitors filled the flight line for aerial performances, static aircraft displays, STEM exhibits, and a closer look at the people and missions of Barksdale.

Whether you came for the aircraft, the history or the chance to share the experience with family and friends, the 2025 show gave our community plenty to remember.

What was your favorite moment from the weekend?

Address

109 Barksdale Boulevard E
Bossier City, LA
71110

Telephone

+13184561015

Website

http://www.defendersoflibertyairshow.com/

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