Blue Impulse , or 11 Squadron , is the aerobatic demonstration team of the Japan Air Self - Defense Force . Originally founded in 1960 as a team of six F - 86 Sabre s , the team switched to the Mitsubishi T - 2 in 1980 and then to the Kawasaki T - 4 in 1995 . They are based at Matsushima Air Base , which was heavily damaged by a tsunami on March 11 , 2011 . History . The first unofficial Japanese aerobatic team was formed in 1958 at Hamamatsu airbase . The team used F - 86F Sabre fighters which did not have a special color scheme . After four demonstrations , the team was disbanded . The next year the USAF Thunderbirds visited Japan , and inspired Japan ' s Air Self Defense Force ( JASDF ) commanding officers to establish an official aerobatic team . In 1960 the new team was formed at Hamamatsu airbase flying five F - 86F fighters , with three of the pilots coming from Japan ' s 1958 team . The first demonstration of the new team " Tenryu " ( named after a river near the air base ) , was on March 4 , 1960 in Hamamatsu . However this name was hard to pronounce in western languages , so the team was renamed Blue Impulse . The planes were equipped with smoke generators using five different colors for each plane : white , red , blue , green , and yellow . The planes were painted in silver , light blue , blue and pink ; on the leader ' s plane , the blue is replaced by gold . In the next year , all five jets received special demonstration paint schemes of white and blue . In 1964 , Blue Impulse performed at the opening of the Olympic Games in Tokyo , drawing the Olympic rings in the air with colored smoke . In 1970 , at the opening of Expo ' 70 in Osaka , the team drew " Expo ' 70 " in the air . In February 1982 , after 545 air demonstrations , Blue Impulse stopped using the F - 86F Sabre and instead began using Japanese - built Mitsubishi T - 2 jets . The first air show with the new planes was on June 25 at the team ' s new Matsushima airbase . On November 14 , 1982 , during a bomb - burst maneuver at a Hamamatsu air display , plane # 4 failed to pull up in time and crashed into a building , killing the pilot and injured 11 people on the ground . This accident brought a halt to the team ' s performances for the year . At Expo ' 90 in Osaka , Blue Impulse performed at the opening event and drew the " Expo ' 90 " logo in the air . Blue Impulse suffered another accident on July 4 , 1991 over the Pacific Ocean , as planes # 2 and # 4 crashed during a training flight . This disaster again stopped the team ' s performances for a year . The team ' s last performance with the Mitsubishi T - 2 was in December 1995 , after 175 demonstrations with these aircraft . The new Blue Impulse aircraft became the Japanese - built Kawasaki T - 4 trainer , and the first show with these planes was on April 5 , 1996 . In 1997 , the team made their first foreign debut at the Nellis AFB air show in Nevada , USA . In 1998 Blue Impulse performed at the Winter Olympics in Nagano , Japan . On July 4 , 2000 , during a training flight , planes # 5 and # 6 crashed , claiming the lives of three people . The incident occurred about 25 km east of Matsushima Air Base . Blue Impulse also performed at the 2002 FIFA World Cup ; on June 4 , 2002 , they performed at the opening of the Japan versus Belgium match . References in pop culture . The mercenary air team " Red Impulse " and its leader from the anime series " Science Ninja Team Gatchaman " take their name from the Blue Impulse . When characters in another anime , " Urusei Yatsura " , are hit with enough force to send them flying into the distance , they sometimes shout " Blue Impulse ! " The team have since been immortalised in its own videogame , titled " Aero Dancing featuring Blue Impulse " .