The Royal Australian Air Force has confirmed it will stage a major air show at Williamtown in mid-November.
The Newcastle Herald reported in March that the RAAF was considering its Williamtown base for a one-off event which could attract tens of thousands of people to the Hunter.
The RAAF confirmed on Friday that head of air shows Air Commodore Micka Gray and Newcastle lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes would announce the Air Force Newcastle Williamtown Air Show 2023 at Fort Scratchley on Friday morning.
The Herald has been told the one-off event will be staged over two days and comprise an aerial display over Newcastle and an open day at the Williamtown base.
The RAAF typically conducts an air show at a major RAAF base every two years as part of its community engagement strategy.
The shows typically include modern air force planes and an array of historic aircraft, but the RAAF has not released details of the Newcastle event.
The chief executive of Destinations Port Stephens, Steve Keogh, said air shows were a "proven hit".
"We know they work. People love them," he said.
"They're a rare opportunity to see vintage and modern aircraft up close."
Williamtown is Australia's main fighter pilot training base and is home to most of the nation's new F-35A Lightning II joint strike fighters.
The base hosted an air show in 2010 which attracted 52,000 people, but rising interest in Australia's defence capabilities and a rare opportunity to see Williamtown's latest state-of-the-art fighter jets and other military aircraft up close could attract a larger crowd.
More than 60,000 people attended a RAAF air show at the Edinburgh base in Adelaide's northern suburbs in November 2019.
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