The U.S. Air Force has announced two preferred Air National Guard bases to receive the F-35A conventional takeoff-and-landing aircraft.
The military branch said Thursday it expects the Truax Field base in Wisconsin and the Dannelly Field base in Alabama to begin accommodating F-35A jets in 2023.
Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson, said the service branch will use aircraft currently stationed in the two installations to replace F-16s at other ANG facilities upon arrival of the fifth-generation fighter platform.
F-35A is built to eventually replace many of the Air Force’s fourth-generation aircraft.
The branch intends to operate both fourth- and fifth-generation fighters into the 2040s as part of efforts to address combatant commander needs, required training and scheduled deployments.
SecAF will hand down a final basing decision after an environmental analysis of the preferred F-35A locations is complete.
