TULSA, Okla. — Oklahoma's congressional delegation has formally asked the Air Force to assign its next generation of fighter planes to the Oklahoma Air National Guard base at Tulsa International Airport.
The Tulsa World reports that the delegation said in a letter to Air Force Secretary Debra Lee James that the base has the experience, training, facilities and community support to house the F-35A.
The delegation said, "The 138th FW has the right cadre of pilots and maintainers... to sustain the F-35A mission and has superior facilities, including upgrades already in the works, to ensure a smooth transition to this airframe."
The F-35A is replacing the F-16 over the next 10 years as the U.S. military's primary fighting aircraft. The fighter jets cost $400 billion and more than 15 years to develop. The new fighter jet will cost about $130 million each to produce, making it the military's most expensive weapons system.
An Air National Guard wind in Burlington, Vermont, is expected to receive the new planes in 2020. Two other units are scheduled to receive the F-35As in 2022 or 2023, and Oklahoma's 138th Fighter Wing hopes to be one of them.
Efforts from state and local officials have been made to secure the new aircraft, including authorization for a new fuel farm at the Air National Guard base in Tulsa.
