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thedrifter
03-05-09, 08:39 AM
03/04/2009 08:02 PM
Fighter jet squadrons' arrival delayed

By: Smitha Rao


HAVELOCK, N.C. – Officials said two Navy FA-18 Super Hornet fighter jet squadrons that were scheduled to arrive at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in 2010 will arrive later than expected.


They were expected to give a big boost to the local economy, but now officials must wait as long as five years to reap the benefits.

“I was disappointed,” Havelock Mayor Jimmy Sanders said. “We had hope the squadrons would be here by the end of this year, and the next one will be here next year.”

Sanders said the squadrons would have poured as much as $100 million into the local economy.

Some Marines said they are also disappointed by the news.

“My reaction is very surprised,” Lance Cpl. John O’Neal said. “I know the area has been planning them coming for a while.”

Plans to bring 11 squadrons of the joint fighter F-35 B aircraft are not affected by the news.

“We should use this as a wake-up call. This is the time to redouble our efforts to assure that the F-35, which is scheduled to replace the aircraft that is currently located at Cherry Point, the A6 and the AVA, that the F-35 is in fact based here in Cherry Point and based here in large numbers,” Sanders said.

Cherry Point officials wouldn’t comment on the delay of the Hornet squadrons, but an official from the Navy’s U.S. fleet Forces Command released a statement, saying, “The 2003 record of decision to home base two F-1 18 EF squadrons at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point has not Changed.

“The timeline for the stand-up of two squadrons is contingent on having supporting infrastructure in place at Cherry Point, to include completion of a hangar renovation, a new simulator facility, and an ordinance magazine,” the statement said.

The statement also said two of those projects are unfunded. But officials said they expect the squadrons at Cherry Point by the end of 2014.

Officials said the economic impact of the F-35 jets is between $30 million and $50 million per year per squadron.

Ellie