Mexico Air Force Preps F‑5 Jets for Sept. 16 Parade

The Mexican Air Force’s Escuadrón Aéreo 401 is preparing its F-5 fighter jets for the Sept. 16 military parade, which will feature three aircraft this year: two single-seat jets and one two-seat jet. Preparations have been underway for over six weeks to ensure precise execution.

“Flying these aircraft requires both physical and psychological endurance,” said Captain First Ricardo Rodríguez, Pilot and Operations Chief. “Pilots must withstand up to seven times their body weight in G-forces, operate at very high speeds, and react instantly.”

The squadron has 12 pilots, six qualified to operate F-5s, with four selected for the parade. “Formation flying is complex and refined through experience. Only the most skilled pilots are chosen to ensure safety and efficiency,” Rodríguez added.

Captain Second Adolfo Barrera, with ten years of experience and over 700 flight hours, will lead the formation. Each F-5 weighs nine tons, serves as a weapons platform, and has a flight duration of 80–100 minutes—enough to reach Mexico’s northern or southern borders from the center of the country. Jets reach a top speed of 1,800 km/h and an operational ceiling of 52,000 feet. The squadron’s fleet includes eight single-seat and two two-seat aircraft.

Preparations for the aerial display begin two months in advance, covering flight order, timing, and formation spacing. On parade day, pilots start at 5:00 a.m. with medical checks, briefings on weather and flight plans, and final aircraft inspections before taking off around 10:00 a.m. They will join more than 30 other military aircraft departing from Santa Lucía.

F-5 flights produce notable noise from the engines, propeller tips, and combustion process. In August, residents of Puebla, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, and the State of Mexico reported loud overflights, with authorities confirming no damage.

“The noise is caused by a sonic boom, created when the aircraft exceeds the speed of sound, compressing and decompressing air rapidly,” military sources explained. The F-5 can reach 1.7 times the speed of sound, or over 1,200 km/h.