Some Burlington-area residents were roused from slumber early Wednesday morning as Utah-based F-35s took off from the Vermont Air National Guard base in South Burlington en route to Germany.
The F-35s will “bolster readiness, enhance NATO’s collective defense posture and further increase air integration capabilities with Allied and Partner nations,” according to a statement from the U.S. Air Force.
The 34th Fighter Squadron, 388th Fighter Wing, made the unannounced takeoff from the South Burlington base, according to a separate statement from the Guard.
Residents who heard the noise reported hearing it for several minutes around 3 a.m.
The fighter jets were on their way from Hill Air Force Base in Utah to Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany, according to the Air Force, which said the aircraft are “equipped for a variety of missions to deter aggression and defend Allies should deterrence fail.”
NATO and Western allies remain on edge amid conflicting reports about Russia’s possible drawback of troops on the Ukrainian border.
Costing $100 million each to build, F-35s are a high-speed stealth plane with nuclear capability.
F-35 noise can peak at 115 decibels, similar to a person shouting in another’s ear or standing next to a siren, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Exposure to 115 decibels can lead to hearing loss within minutes.
Since coming to the state in 2019, the planes have drawn significant complaints from Burlington, South Burlington, Winooski, Colchester and Williston residents for noise disruptions to daily life. Those complaints have led to the creation of a sound monitoring program and some homes being soundproofed by the Burlington International Airport.
In Wednesday’s statement, the Vermont Air National Guard indicated it had heard from Burlington-area residents who had expressed concern about the early-morning flyover.
Among them was Thomas Walters, who was fast asleep in his Richmond home when he was awakened at 3 a.m. by the roar of several F-35s.
“Even way out in Richmond, F-35s are ruining an otherwise idyllic lifestyle,” Walters told VTDigger. He said a friend thought it sounded “like World War 3 starting.”
The Guard “takes each comment seriously” but cannot always alert residents ahead of missions, Maj. J. Scott Detweiler, a Guard spokesperson, said in the statement.
“As an operational F-35 Fighter Wing, the Vermont Air National Guard does everything in its control to balance F-35 mission requirements with the impact on the local community,” Detweiler said. “There are times when operational security and real-world missions prevent the sharing of information on specific aircraft movements.”
