One hundred thousand people are gathering in Salthill, Galway today for what is believed to be the larges free air display in the Europe.
The Salthill Airshow 2005 features RAF's Red Arrows as well as the US army's Sikorsky UH-60 and Blackhawk helicopters. The event takes place from 3pm to 6pm today. The organisers have confirmed that an RAF Jaguar and Tornado will participate in the event, along with aircraft from the Dutch Air Force.
The Irish Airforce, Army Parachute Team, Garda Air Support Unit, and Irish Coast Guard are also taking part.
Protesters, however, are expected to stage their opposition to the presence of British and American warplanes.
An anti-war group last week released doves to protest at the presence of the military jets in Salthill. The symbolic gesture was organised by the Galway Alliance Against War, which had billed the event as "Not the Salthill War Show".
The alliance's spokesman, Niall Farrell, said the show organisers were "wittingly or not, glorifying and sanitising war" by displaying war planes as part of the programme. His group has called for a boycott in protest.
A spokesman for the Salthill Air Show said that he and his colleagues were as "anti-war as anyone", but military aircraft also had a positive dimension in terms of their protective role.
"Every aircraft booked in our programme since 1994 is used for display only, and they participate in 500 to 600 air shows throughout Europe, including several in Ireland. None of these planes are actually involved in any military activity."