WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is asking the Air Force to provide complete information on the noise produced by the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which may be based in Tucson.
In a letter to top Air Force officials, Giffords reiterated her strong support for basing the fighter jet in Tucson, but noted that constituents have expressed concerns about the noise of the plane.
Providing noise information “will ensure that there is a full examination of the impact on any community that is being considered for basing of the F-35,” Giffords wrote in a letter to Air Force Secretary Michael B. Donley and Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, chief of staff of the Air Force.
Giffords goal, she wrote, is “to ensure the greatest possible transparency and accountability.”
Giffords, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, welcomed the Air Force’s October announcement that it had selected the 162nd Fighter Wing of the Arizona National Guard at Tucson International Airport as one of five locations under consideration as a site for pilot training to fly the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
The Air Force also selected Luke Air Force Base in Glendale as one of the other finalists for an F-35 training site. The final training sites will be selected after completion of Environmental Impact Statements.
As part of that process, there will be a series of public meetings on the potential impacts of bringing the fighter to Tucson. The meetings will be held in Southern Arizona next month.
Before those meetings begin, however, Giffords told the Air Force that she wants the most recent set of noise studies released.
Giffords wrote that Air Force noise data collection tests for the F-35 “are the most thorough ever performed for any fighter aircraft to date.” She listed eight specific steps the Air Force should take before it makes its final decision. Among them is an evaluation of all potential flight paths and the development of a noise mitigation plan.
But Giffords also reminded Donley and Schwartz why the F-35 should be based in Tucson.
“There are many reasons why Tucson would be an excellent location for the F-35,” she wrote. “Our unprecedented access to airspace and the Barry M. Goldwater Range make both Davis-Monthan and the 162nd Fighter Wing in Tucson ideal basing options.”
Basing the jet here, she added, “would create additional opportunities for collaboration with our Allies and permit persistent and continuous operations that will greatly benefit the Air Force’s overall readiness posture.”
The 162nd currently trains F-16 fighter pilots and, with three flying squadrons, it is the largest Air National Guard fighter wing in the country. Approximately 1,440 people work at the base – about 1,000 full-time employees and the rest Guardsmen.
The wing also has trained pilots from 24 of the 25 countries that fly the F-16 today. If Tucson is selected as one of the F-35 training sites, the specifics of who will be trained here would be determined as the new planes start coming off the production line.
Giffords has previously noted that Arizona’s military operations are crucial to the state’s economy, creating and supporting tens of thousands of jobs and generating more than $9 billion in revenue, according to a recent study.
We Tucsonans will welcome the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to our air space. I can’t help but look up with pride when I hear an F-16 and look forward to seeing our men and women flying the F-35 too. It is un-American to not support our military. They are willing to die for us, its the least we can do for our freedoms.