Netflix is set to release a gripping new documentary on May 23 that pulls back the curtain on the U.S. Air Force’s elite aerial demonstration team, the Thunderbirds. Titled Air Force Elite: Thunderbirds, the 90-minute movie offers a behind-the-scenes look at the precision, trust, and pressure involved in flying six F-16 jets in tight formation at near-supersonic speeds.
The trailer, released April 29, features breathtaking visuals of the team in action and candid reflections from pilots who put their lives on the line every week for eight months a year.
“If you don’t have blind trust, this show will not work,” says Lt. Col. Justin Elliot, who led the Thunderbirds from 2022 to 2023. He is succeeded by current commander Lt. Col. Nathan Malafa.
The documentary emphasizes the extreme physical and mental demands of the job. “Six jets flying 18 inches apart, nearly at the speed of sound … you are microseconds of lag from a life-threatening situation,” one team member warns in the trailer. Major Eric Tise, known during filming as Thunderbird 6, bluntly summarizes the danger: “We are always under a little bit of like, the ‘I’m going to die’ factor.”
Air Force Elite: Thunderbirds arrives a year after the release of Amazon Studios’ The Blue Angels, which chronicled the Navy’s own aerial demonstration team. That documentary, produced in part by actor Glen Powell—who played a fighter pilot in the hit movie Top Gun: Maverick—was both visually impressive and widely streamed over Memorial Day weekend.
The Thunderbirds film features an even more prominent production team: former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama. Their company, Higher Ground Productions, has a longstanding partnership with Netflix, producing both fictional and non-fictional content, including award-winning shows and movies.
Directed by Matt Wilcox, known for sports documentaries—particularly in basketball—the film draws a parallel between elite pilots and professional athletes. Like a basketball team, the Thunderbirds rely on peak individual skill and cohesive teamwork. The stakes, however, are far higher.
“As a newbie, there’s an immense amount of pressure to get this right,” Capt. Jacob Impellizzeri confesses in the trailer. “You don’t want to be the reason the team fails.”
In addition to showcasing thrilling flight maneuvers, the movie also delves into the intense culture of accountability within the squadron. Viewers witness post-flight debriefs where every mistake is dissected. “We’re going to pick apart everything that went wrong, and it’s going to feel like you’re getting crushed,” Elliot says in one scene.
The film could have implications beyond entertainment. Like The Blue Angels, which one reviewer described as a “visually stunning recruitment ad,” Thunderbirds may serve to inspire a new generation of aviators at a time when the Air Force faces a persistent pilot shortage. Whether airshows and documentaries meaningfully impact recruitment remains under examination—Congress has requested the Department of Defense to study their influence on military readiness and consider expanding performances to more rural areas.
With star-level producers, a talented director, and a compelling subject, Air Force Elite: Thunderbirds is positioned as more than a movie—it’s a high-octane window into the heart of America’s aerial excellence.
