Hill AFB is finalist to land new F-35s

Utah congressmen say base is well-positioned to house the fighter-bombers

Published: Friday, Oct. 30, 2009 1:01 a.m. MDT
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 

The Air Force on Thursday declared Utah's Hill Air Force Base as one of three finalists to house its next-generation F-35 fighter-bomber.

"This, I believe, secures the future of Hill Air Force Base into as far as any of us can see," said Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah.

Technically, the Air Force said Hill is one of three "preferred choices" to house active operations squadrons that will fly the F-35 as early as 2013. Others are Mountain Home, Idaho, and Shaw, S.C. They were chosen from among 205 air bases.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said making the final three essentially ensures that at least some F-35s will be sent to Hill, as long as it does well on some upcoming environmental impact statements.

One of his aides compared it to receiving a college acceptance letter, and as long as the student passes his final exams and graduates high school, he should expect to be at that college next fall.

But Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said the situation is not that secure. "It is not a done deal, and we should not make that assumption."

He added, "I like to say we won the swimsuit competition, but now we're still in the evening gown phase." Bishop said the Air Force could place F-35s at all finalist bases, or just one or two.

Story continues below

Bishop, Hatch and Bennett said the Air Force indicated it could put one to three squadrons at Hill. The base currently has three squadrons of F-16s, totaling 70 planes, with its 388th Fighter Wing, but the Air Force is phasing out the old F-16s and replacing them with stealthy F-35s that can carry both bombs and missiles.

"Many of our pilots are currently flying aircraft older than they are. And that is a tremendous strain on the airplanes to have to be maintained constantly after they are that old, and there are safety issues and, of course, obsolescence issues, so the F-35 is a logical step forward," Bennett said.

Col. Scott Zobrist, 388th Fighter Wing commander, said Hill is honored to be among the bases considered for the F-35 mission, but many factors go into the final selection including Air Force operational and strategic needs, force structure changes, aircraft retirements, affordability, the use of existing assets and the environmental evaluation. "The Air Force is committed to keeping base personnel, community leaders and the public informed as the process moves forward," he said.

In addition to the three bases, the Air Force ic considering Burlington International Airport Guard Station, Vt.; Jacksonville International Airport Air Guard Station, Fla.; and McEntire Air Guard Base, S.C., as homes for the F-35.

Recent comments

JMT,

Right on the money.

Anonymous | Oct. 30, 2009 at 9:54 p.m.

Right now we could take the Vietnam era F-4 Phantom II, digitize it...

JMT | Oct. 30, 2009 at 9:20 p.m.

I'll sleep alot better knowing these multimillion dollar toys are...

Great | Oct. 30, 2009 at 3:58 p.m.

Image
Lm Otero, Associated Press

The Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter, shown being unveiled in 2006, is a next-generation fighter jet meant to replace the aging F-16. The F-35 Lightning II can carry both bombs and missiles.

previousnext

Latest comments

Letters: Palin on the fringe?

Okay Charles, here's one, just off the top of my head. Gov. Palin stated that...

Bronco, Kyle rubber match

I can't believe how much ignorance is spewed from both sides. Can we please...

That's right on target. Long ago I stopped going to see football and...

I've read most of the comments on here, and they are spot on. I would...

Bronco, Kyle rubber match

Tired of hearing 1984 vs. 2004/08. I really don't care. At all. And I think...

Uhhhhh... Calling Captain Obvious... Calling Captain Obvious.... The NBA...

Do you mean that teachers aren't treated with respect? how can that be? We...

Letters: Palin on the fringe?

"This is part of the 'Real America'..." I would consider the viewpoint...

Has Mark Helms' music been recorded? He is an amazing musician/artist....

BYU would like friendlier rivalry

how about talking to some Utah players and fans about the issue? Focusing...

Advertisements