USAF selects next ANG F-35 bases

Truax Field ANGB, Wisconsin and Dannelly Field, Alabama, have been named as the preferred locations for the next two Air National Guard F-35A bases.

‘Selecting Truax Field and Dannelly Field will increase Air National Guard F-35A units providing 5th-generation airpower around the world,’ said Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson. As F-35As arrive at these locations, they will replace the local Block 30 F-16C/Ds, which will cascade to other ANG units with older aircraft.

‘Putting F-35s at these two Air National Guard bases continues our transition into the next generation of air superiority,’ said USAF Chief of Staff Gen David L. Goldfein.

The USAF expects the F-35As to begin arriving at Truax Field in early 2023 and at Dannelly Field later that year. These locations remain preferred alternatives until the secretary of the Air Force makes the final basing decisions after the requisite environmental analysis is complete.

The Air Force also evaluated Gowen Field ANGB, Idaho, Selfridge ANGB, Michigan, and Jacksonville Air Guard Station, Florida in this round of decisions. Those bases were reasonable alternatives, but not preferred. Previously, the secretary of the Air Force selected three active-duty operational locations and one Air National Guard location – Hill AFB, Utah; RAF Lakenheath, England; Eielson AFB, Alaska; and Burlington AGS, Vermont. Additionally, the USAF announced NAS-JRB Fort Worth as the preferred alternative for the first Air Force Reserve F-35 base.

The Alabama ANG will switch from the Block 30 F-16C tot he F-35A. Jim Haseltine