Red Arrows Hawk T1A formation with red, white and blue smoke at RIAT 2024

Airshow Smoke Explained: How the Red Arrows and Blue Angels Do It

by Fortuné Leroy | Sep 28, 2026 | Aviation World | 0 comments

Nine red jets pull up in front of the crowd, and on a word from the leader, "Smoke on, go," thick white trails pour from their tails. Seconds later, red and blue join the white, and the Union Flag is painted across the sky.

Display smoke is the simplest trick at any airshow, and the one people ask about most. It is not a special exhaust or a burning fuel leak. It is oil, sprayed into a very hot place at exactly the right moment. Here is how the world's best-known teams do it, and why they bother.

Quick Facts

Basic principle: Oil is injected into the hot jet exhaust, vaporises instantly and condenses into dense smoke
Blue Angels: Biodegradable, paraffin-based oil pumped into the exhaust nozzles (US Navy)
Red Arrows: Smoke pod under the Hawk; diesel-based fluid, with red and blue made by adding dye
Red Arrows since 2025: Smoke switched to a vegetable-oil-based biofuel at RIAT 2025, according to the RAF
Frecce Tricolori: Ten-ship Italian team trailing green, white and red smoke
Why smoke: Shows the crowd the flight path and helps pilots, especially solos, see each other

Oil Into Fire

Every display smoke system works on the same idea. A tank carries a light oil. A pump pushes it through injectors into the jet pipe or exhaust, where temperatures are hundreds of degrees. The oil vaporises in an instant, and as the vapour hits the cold air behind the aircraft it condenses into billions of tiny droplets. That is the white trail: not combustion smoke, but an aerosol, much like a cloud.

The US Navy's Blue Angels describe the process in one sentence in their official FAQ, and it applies almost word for word to every jet team.

“The smoke is produced by pumping biodegradable, paraffin-based oil directly into the exhaust nozzles of the aircraft, where the oil is instantly vaporized into smoke.”

U.S. Navy Blue Angels — official Frequently Asked Questions

Blue Angels F/A-18 Hornets testing their smoke systems on the ground — Blue Angels crews run preflight checks on their smoke systems at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, in September 2012. Photo: U.S. Navy, public domain

How the Colours Are Made

White is the natural colour. Red, blue or green come from dye mixed into the oil before it is injected. On the Red Arrows' Hawks, the smoke system sits in a pod under the fuselage, carrying diesel-based fluid; plain fluid makes white smoke, and dyed fluid makes red and blue. Pilots trigger each colour from a button in the cockpit, which is how the team can switch colours in the blink of an eye.

The Frecce Tricolori, the Italian Air Force team formed in 1961 and flying the Aermacchi MB-339, do the same with green, white and red. Their signature finish, a ten-aircraft pass trailing the Italian tricolour, is one of the best-known images in display flying.

Frecce Tricolori green, white and red smoke trails at Dubai Airshow 2023 — The Frecce Tricolori’s green, white and red smoke hangs over the static park at the Dubai Airshow in 2023. Photo: Mztourist / CC BY-SA 4.0

Why Teams Use Smoke

For the crowd, smoke turns a fast, small aircraft into a line you can follow. A loop becomes a circle drawn in the sky; a crossing becomes a visible X. Without it, much of a display would be a series of dots.

For the pilots, it is a safety tool. The Blue Angels say smoke helps their solo pilots see each other during opposing manoeuvres, when two jets race towards each other head-on and must pass at precise distances. A smoke trail makes the other aircraft far easier to pick up against a cluttered horizon.

Greener Smoke

Diesel works, but it is dirty and can stain paint. Teams have been moving to cleaner fluids. In 2025 the Red Arrows flew their Royal International Air Tattoo displays on sustainable aviation fuel for the first time, and switched the smoke pod from diesel to a biofuel based on vegetable oil, according to the RAF and The Aviationist.

“This makes this year’s Air Tattoo an ideal occasion to showcase the Red Arrows’ ground-breaking, world-leading move to more sustainable fuels.”

Squadron Leader Andy King — Senior Engineering Officer, Red Arrows, July 2025

Whatever is in the tank, the effect is the same: a few litres of oil and a hot jet pipe produce the most photographed thing at any airshow.

Sources: U.S. Navy Blue Angels FAQ; Royal Air Force Red Arrows team information; RAFRedArrows.co.uk; The Aviationist (July 2025); Wikipedia (Frecce Tricolori).

Frequently Asked Questions

How do airshow jets make smoke?

Display jets pump a light oil into the hot exhaust, where it vaporises instantly and condenses into a thick white aerosol as it meets the colder air. The Blue Angels use biodegradable, paraffin-based oil pumped directly into the exhaust nozzles.

How do the Red Arrows make red, white and blue smoke?

The Red Arrows’ Hawks carry a smoke pod under the fuselage. Plain diesel-based fluid produces white smoke, while dye added to the fluid produces red and blue. Pilots select each colour with a button in the cockpit.

Is airshow smoke harmful?

Teams have been moving to cleaner fluids. The Blue Angels use biodegradable, paraffin-based oil, and in 2025 the Red Arrows switched their smoke from diesel to a vegetable-oil-based biofuel at the Royal International Air Tattoo, according to the RAF.

Why do aerobatic teams use smoke?

Smoke makes the flight path visible to the crowd, turning loops and crossings into shapes in the sky. The Blue Angels say it also helps their solo pilots see each other during opposing manoeuvres, when two jets fly towards each other at high speed.

Which aerobatic team flies the Italian tricolour smoke?

The Frecce Tricolori, the Italian Air Force aerobatic team based at Rivolto and founded in 1961, trails green, white and red smoke from its Aermacchi MB-339 jets, most famously in its ten-aircraft finale.