Davis-Monthan Air Force Base was passed over as a home for F-35 Lightning II next-generation fighter jets. The Air Force yesterday named Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas, as the preferred location for the first Air Force Reserve-led F-35 base.
D-M also lost out on being home to new drones. The Air Force says Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina is the chosen location to base a new MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft group.
D-M was a finalist for both missions.
The Tucson base and other facilities will be considered reasonable alternatives during an environmental analysis process that must be completed before the Air Force makes a final basing decision.
D-M is trying to attract new missions to the base, as its mainstay A-10 Thunderbolt II ground-attack jets are scheduled for phased retirement by 2022.
Read more from the Arizona Daily Star.
City of Tucson, AZ published this content on 18 January 2017 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein.
Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 18 January 2017 22:11:06 UTC.
Original documenthttps://www.tucsonaz.gov/newsnet/f-35-jets-and-drones-wont-come-tucson-now
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