The Department of the Air Force selected Truax Field, Wisconsin, and Dannelly Field, Alabama, for the next two Air National Guard F-35A Lightning II locations.
F-35As will begin to replace many of the older fourth-generation aircraft, but the Air Force will continue to fly a mix of fifth and fourth-generation fighters into the 2040s. This will allow the Air Force to maintain enough fighters to meet combatant commander requirements, provide required training, and allow a reasonable and uninterrupted deployment tempo for the force.
“The Department of the Air Force selected the 115th Fighter Wing and the 187th Fighter Wing as the next Air National Guard locations to receive the F-35A,” said Secretary of the Air Force Barbara M. Barrett. “Putting F-35s at these two bases continues our transition into the next generation of air superiority.”
Before finalizing the basing decisions, the Air Force completed the required environmental analysis, which began in early 2018.
The Air Force expects the F-35As to begin arriving at Truax and Dannelly Fields in 2023.
Currently, three active duty operational locations—Hill Air Force Base, Utah; RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom; and Eielson AFB, Alaska, one other Air National Guard location, Burlington Air Guard Station, Vermont.
One Air Force Reserve location, Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas, has been selected to host F-35A aircraft, pending the results of an environmental study.
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This article was originally published by the U.S. Air Force.
