(WAMC Northeast Public Radio – Paul Tuthill) The U.S. Air Force has selected locations to base its newest fighter jets and one is in western Massachusetts.
In a much anticipated decision by the Pentagon, Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield has been picked to receive a new fleet of F-35A aircraft, an action that officials said will ensure the military installation — with its thousands of jobs — will remain for decades.
The country’s next generation of military jets, which cost almost $80 million each, will replace the 104th Fighter Wing’s aging fleet of F-15’s. Based at Barnes, the 104th is responsible for homeland air security on the Eastern Seaboard from Maine to Virginia.
The F-35A has about the same speed and range as the F-15, but comes with much newer technology, said the 104th commander Col. David Halasikun.
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Having 18 F-35As based at Barnes will add 80 military jobs, according to the Massachusetts Air National Guard. Current employment, both military and civilian, is about 2,100.
“It is absolutely impossible to overstate the impact these bases have on the economy of Massachusetts,” said State Senator John Velis of Westfield.
Chances of getting the jets increased greatly last year after Massachusetts enacted legislation to cut red tape for spouses of military members moving to the state to get professional licenses and make it easier for their children to enroll in schools, said Velis.
“What happened with the SPEED Act is that it put Massachusetts on the top of the pack in terms of how we treat service members’ families,” he said.
Velis, who is a Major in the U.S. Army Reserve, believes the SPEED Act gave Westfield the edge in the competition with other places around the country to get the F-35s.
“This decision ensures that Barnes here in the city of Westfield will have a future for years and years to come and that is a really great thing,” Velis said.