SOUTH BURLINGTON — The first F-35 fighter jets are expected to arrive at the Vermont Air National Guard base in the fall of 2019, a year earlier than previously planned, officials announced this week.
The accelerated timeline is intended to help the Air Force address a shortage of active-duty fighter aircraft maintenance workers, officials said. At the same time, local opposition to basing the F-35 at Burlington International Airport continues.
The F-35 will replace the current fleet of F-16s. Residents are concerned that the noise from the F-35 will be worse than from the legacy F-16.
A coalition of local residents and the city of Winooski, which has hundreds of residents in the flight path of Air Guard jets, are suing in U.S. District Court to block their arrival. Their case challenges the Pentagon’s environmental review and its 2013 decision to base 18 of the F-35s in Vermont.
The early arrival won’t affect the Air Guard’s planning and preparation for the new jets’ arrival, officials with the Guard said in a statement.
“Our airmen are prepared to proficiently execute the missions handed to them by the Air Force, and we are proud to be the first Air National Guard base to receive the F-35,” said Maj. Gen. Steven Cray, of the Vermont National Guard, in a statement.
Gov. Peter Shumlin said in a statement released by Guard officials that basing the F-35 at the airport in South Burlington will bring jobs and boost economic development in Chittenden County and beyond.
“As I have said before, the decision to locate this newest generation of planes in Burlington is a testament to the professionalism of our Guard,” the governor added in his statement.
