Navy pilot from Stanislaus will be part of Super Bowl flyover. ‘Really cool’

Oakdale native Dalton Stewart will be one of eight military pilots in a flyover at the Super Bowl on Sunday.

The Navy lieutenant is part of Strike Fighter Squadron 2 at Naval Air Station Lemoore, south of Fresno. The flyover will happen as “The Star-Spangled Banner” — to be performed by Charlie Puth — concludes at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. Four pilots each from the Navy and Air Force will join in the tight formation.

“Being a huge football fan, getting to fly over the biggest football game of the year is a really cool experience to have,” Stewart said in a Navy news release.

The game between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots will decide the NFL title. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. on NBC, following lengthy pregame activities.

Stewart graduated from Oakdale High School in 2015. He joined the Navy in 2019 after earning a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from San Diego State University.

Stewart flies an F/A-18 Super Hornet. It can operate from aircraft carriers, engage in air-to-air combat and hit targets on land.

Lemoore will send a second Super Hornet to the Super Bowl, along with a pair of F-35C Lightning IIs. The Air Force will provide two F-15C Eagles from its National Guard base in Fresno and two B-1B Lancers from Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota.

In the news release, Stewart expanded on his background: “Growing up in a small town taught me the importance of having a strong work ethic .... I began flying while in college, and the Navy provided an opportunity to serve while being able to fly.”

The release came from the Navy Office of Community Outreach, based in Millington, Tennessee.

The Modesto Bee gets occasional emails about local people serving on ships and in other assignments. Perhaps most memorable was the 2021 message about Susan Murphy. She overcame a troubled childhood in Modesto to become a nurse and officer aboard an aircraft carrier.

This story was originally published February 5, 2026 at 11:51 AM.

John Holland

The Modesto Bee

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John Holland covers agriculture, transportation and general assignment news. He has been with The Modesto Bee since 2000 and previously worked at newspapers in Sonora and Visalia. He was born and raised in San Francisco and has a journalism degree from UC Berkeley.