Corps pushes ahead with F-35 basing plans - Marine Corps News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Marine Corps Times

Corps pushes ahead with F-35 basing plans

Amid community concerns over the future location of F-35B Joint Strike Fighter squadrons, the Marine Corps is pushing forward with its basing plans. In May and June the Marine Corps released two environmental studies and continues to hold public meetings to address concerns.

There will be 22 operational squadrons spread among Marine Corps Air Stations Beaufort, S.C., and Cherry Point, N.C., on the East Coast, and Miramar, Calif., and Yuma, Ariz., on the West Coast, said Capt. Craig Thomas, a Marine spokesman at the Pentagon. Seven of the 22 squadrons will have 16 aircraft, and the rest will have 10, although where they will be assigned has not yet been determined.

The East Coast also will have a pilot training center, and the West Coast will have an operational training and evaluation squadron.

The first operational squadron is planned for Yuma in 2012, although final approval to base the squadron there isn’t likely until December, Thomas said. The Corps also will begin phasing out its legacy aircraft in 2012.

But even as plans proceed, the troubled program continues to face scrutiny in Washington. At an estimated $382 billion, the Joint Strike Fighter is by far the Pentagon’s most expensive acquisition program — a fact not lost on Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who is continuing his crusade to cut defense spending.

The Corps, though, is counting on the fifth-generation fighter to replace its EA-6B Prowlers, AV-8B Harriers and F/A-18 Hornets.

The F-35B is touted for its stealth and short-takeoff and vertical-landing capabilities. The Corps’ jump jet variant broke the sound barrier June 10, flying 727 mph and into military aviation history books. It was the first time a STOVL aircraft reached supersonic speed, although the Air Force’s conventional take-off and landing variant had already broken the sound barrier.

Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., which serves as a joint F-35 training pipeline, will get the first Marine variants this year. The first students to funnel through the school will become the Corps’ operational test and evaluation pilots in 2011, leaving Eglin for Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., where they will continue operational tests of the aircraft.

Extensive environmental impact studies for both coasts, conducted by the Navy, cover topics such as noise and safety. Thomas said basing plans can’t be completed until the public review of the studies is complete. To read the full reports and view public meeting dates, visit www.usmcjsfeast.com for the East Coast and www.usmcjsfwest.com for the West Coast.

POSSIBLE LOCATIONS

East Coast options:

•Three operational squadrons and a pilot training center at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C., and eight squadrons at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C.

• The training center at Beaufort and 11 squadrons at Cherry Point.

• Eight squadrons at Beaufort and three squadrons and the training center at Cherry Point.

• Eleven squadrons at Beaufort and the training center at Cherry Point.

West Coast options:

• Six squadrons at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., and five squadrons and an operational training and evaluation squadron at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz.

• Four squadrons at Miramar and seven squadrons plus the OT&E at Yuma.

• Seven squadrons and the OT&E at Miramar and four squadrons at Yuma.

• One squadron and the OT&E at Miramar and 10 squadrons at Yuma.

• Ten squadrons at Miramar and one squadron plus the OT&E at Yuma.