Big news out of Washington at the end of last week – at least as far as Arizona is concerned. Luke AFB made the first cut – and is still in the running to be considered as the primary training base for the F-35 (Joint Strike Fighter).
Bases listed in the announcement;
Training bases
- Luke Air Force Base, Glendale, AZ
- Tucson Intl Airport Air Guard Station, Tucson, AZ
- Boise Air Terminal Air Guard Station, ID
- Eglin Air Force Base, FL
- Holloman Air Force Base, NM
Operational bases
- Mountain Home Air Force Base, ID
- Hill Air Force Base, UT
- Burlington Intl Airport Air Guard Station, VT
- Jacksonville Intl Airport Air Guard Station, FL
- Shaw Air Force Base, SC
- McEntire Air Guard Base, SC
Why does this matter so much to Arizona? Well – Luke is dedicated to the US Air Force’s F-16 training program, and the F-16 will start phasing out of the inventory when the F-35 starts coming in. The presence of Luke has been estimated to inject TWO BILLION dollars into the Arizona economy and is considered recession proof.
While most of the local Arizona governments are supporting getting the F-35 training role assigned to Luke, one West Valley city is still sitting on the fence. The City of El Mirage has asked that an environmental impact study to be conducted – including flying actual aircraft in and out of the base to see how much noise the planes will generate (since early studies have shown that the F-35 will be noisier than the F-16’s).
Time will tell.
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