Menu
Air Force considering base for F-35s
Associated Press and the Mountain Home News-- The Air Force says Mountain Home Air Force Base is one of six bases under consideration for its newest aircraft, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
The decision sets in motion a process of environmental studies at each location, but the timing on when those studies will begin, and the associated hearings that will be held in conjunction with them, has not been announced, nor has the timing of when a decision will be made.
Other locations on the short list are Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina; Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska; Moody Air Force Base in Georgia; Hill Air Force Base in Utah; and Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
(Watch for more details in next week's Mountain Home News).
The F-35 is a single-engine, supersonic 5th generation multi-role fighter equipped with stealth technology that will replace a variety of aging fighter and strike aircraft for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and allied defense forces. The A-10 Thunderbolt, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18 Hornet and A/V-8 Harrier are among the jets it will replace.
Three F-35 variants, derived from a common design, developed together and using the same sustainment infrastructure worldwide will replace at least 13 types of aircraft for 11 nations initially, "making the Lightning II the most cost-effective fighter program in history," contend officials of Lockheed Martin, which is building the plane.
Once fielded, it will complement the fleet of F-22 Raptor air-supremacy fighters that are already operational.
Currently, two F-35s have entered flight test, two are in ground test, and 17 are in various stages of assembly, including the first two production-model jets scheduled for delivery to the U.S. Air Force in 2010.
"In stealth combat configuration, the F-35 aerodynamically outperforms all other combat-configured 4th generation aircraft in top-end speed, loiter, subsonic acceleration and combat radius," said Tom Burbage, Lockheed Martin executive vice president of F-35 program integration.
"This allows unprecedented "see/shoot first" and combat radius advantages."
The F-35 has the most powerful engine ever installed in a fighter, with thrust equivalent to both engines today in Eurofighter or F/A-18 aircraft. The conventional version of the F-35 has 9g capability and matches the turn rates of the F-16 and F/A-18.
"More importantly," Burbage said, "in a combat load, with all fuel, targeting sensor pods and weapons carried internally, the F-35's aerodynamic performance far exceeds all legacy aircraft equipped with a similar capability.
"The government has already proven that no other aircraft can survive against the 5th generation stealth that only the F-22 and the F-35 possess; it is impossible to add this stealth to fourth-generation fighters."
Burbage went on to contend that "the F-35's data collection, integration and information sharing capabilities will transform the battlespace of the future and will redefine the close air support mission. The F-35 is specifically designed to take advantage of lessons learned from the F-117 stealth aircraft. Unlike the F-117, the ability to share tactically important information is built into the F-35, along with stealth."