Marines' new F-35 fighter will be topic of Feb. 3 meeting

[thedrifter]

Marines' new F-35 fighter will be topic of Feb. 3 meeting
Published Sat, Jan 24, 2009 12:00 AM
By PATRICK DONOHUE
pdonohue@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531

Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort officials are seeking input from area residents about the proposed arrival of the Corps' next-generation fighter jet at the base.

The air station will host a scoping meeting Feb. 3 at the Holiday Inn on Boundary Street to answer residents' questions about the possibility of bringing Joint Strike Fighter squadrons to the base.

Federal law requires the Marine Corps conduct a series of public meetings, called scoping meetings, and gather public comment as it prepares its Environmental Impact Statement about the jets' arrival and operation in the skies over Beaufort.

"It's really important that we know what the community's concerns are now as we're beginning this process," said Maj. James Jarvis, an air station spokesman. "There will be a lot of time and money invested in bringing this aircraft here, so we're interested to hear what the community thinks."

Jarvis said the base will set up booths and tables in the hotel's conference room and bring in a panel of experts on subjects such as noise; the Air Installation Compatible Use Zone, or AICUZ; and other topics.

According to a notice published last week in the Federal Register, MCAS Beaufort and MCAS Cherry Point (N.C.) are the proposed locations for 13 JSF squadrons. The number includes 10 operational squadrons, one reserve squadron and two training squadrons, Jarvis said.

The notice describes a number of scenarios in which MCAS Beaufort could receive all of the training squadrons and none of the operational squadrons, or a combination of the two.

The air station currently houses seven F/A-18 Hornet squadrons, including Navy Strike Fighter Squadron 86, which Jarvis said likely will leave the base when the F-35 arrives in Beaufort in 2010.

In addition to holding a scoping meeting in Beaufort on Feb. 3, base officials will conduct a pair of meetings in Georgia to get comment from the residents who live near Townsend Bombing Range.

MCAS Beaufort owns the 5,182-acre range in McIntosh County, Ga., and will hold scoping meetings in nearby Ludowici, Ga., and Darien, Ga.

The F-35 ultimately will replace all of the F/A-18 Hornets being used by the Navy and Marine Corps, the average age of which is about 18 years. The Navy and Marine Corps are scheduled to receive 680 jets.

What: Joint Strike Fighter scoping meeting When: From 4-7 p.m. Feb. 3. Where: Holiday Inn on Boundary Street Anyone with special needs is asked to contact USMC F-35B East Coast Stationing EIS at www.usmcjsfeast.com. Public Comment The Marine Corps seeks public comment on the possibility of basing the Joint Strike Fighter at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. Any public comment must be received by Feb. 16 and may be submitted by filling out a comment card at the series of scoping meetings next month, by e-mail at www.usmcjsfeast.com or by mail atUSMC F-35B East Coast Stationing EIS, P.O. Box 56488, Jacksonville, FL 32241-6488.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Posted on Sun, Jan. 25, 2009
New fighter likely to land at S.C. bases
F-35 to replace military’s F-16s
By CHUCK CRUMBO
ccrumbo@thestate.com

Three military bases in South Carolina are likely to become future homes for the F-35 fighter.

The jet still is under development. But its manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, is building three versions that can be used by the Air Force, Marines and Navy.

The first test models are expected to roll out of the company’s Fort Worth, Texas, plant in May or June.

Shaw Air Force Base reportedly is on that service’s “short list” to receive the first F-35s, which will replace the F-16 Fighting Falcons now at Shaw.

But it probably will be 2012 before the fighter lands in South Carolina, spokesmen said.

The S.C. Air National Guard, which flies a similar version of the F-16 based at Shaw, also is slated to receive the F-35 at its nearby McEntire Joint National Guard Base.

The F-35, a single-seat, single- engine plane with radar-evading stealth capabilities, also is slated to replace the F/A-18 Hornets that the Navy and Marines fly.

Marine Corps Air Station- Beaufort, where a Navy and six Marine F/A-18 squadrons are based, expects to see its first F-35 in 2012 or 2013, a spokesman said.

The impact the F-35s will have on local bases remains to be seen.

The jet is louder than the F-16, said Tom Olsen, a retired Shaw commander and chief of Sumter’s efforts to keep that base open.

“There’ll be some change in the noise contour, but it’s not going to be oppressive,” Olsen said.

Regardless, communities should work to steer “the wrong kind of development” from locating near the bases, said George Patrick III, executive coordinator of the S.C. Military Base Task Force.

One example of the “wrong kind” of development would be allowing housing subdivisions and apartment complexes near runways, officials said.

An option being considered at Beaufort is to build a remote airstrip where pilots could do extensive training before deploying, said Gunnery Sgt. Chad McMeen.

“We want to be proactive,” McMeen said.

Each F-35 is expected to cost $80 million to $90 million, about four times the cost of a new F-16 equipped with the latest electronic gear.

The Pentagon plans to buy 2,458 planes for the Air Force, Navy and Marines at a total cost of almost $300 billion. That is 43 percent higher than the initial estimate, released in 2001.

Ellie