ACTION 8 UPDATE: F-35 fighter jet project in Montgomery
Action 8 News has an update on the project to bring all-new F-35 fighter jets to the Alabama Air National Guard’s 187th Fighter Wing at Dannelly Field in Montgomery.
Lt. Col. Kevin Pugh, who is the director of the Air National Guard 187th Fighter Wing’s F-35 conversion, spoke to the Montgomery Rotary Club on Monday. Pugh is overseeing the conversion of more than 1,000 personnel from using the F-16C Fighting Falcons to the all-new F-35A Lightning II.
Pugh says the F-16s, which departed from Dannelly Field in April, were authorized by Congress in 1987. As with any technology, they were outdated. The incoming F-35s will be the most advanced versions of this combat aircraft. They use radar, RF energy and other technology to see objects and to display them within a pilot’s helmet.
The first three F-35s are due to arrive at Dannelly Field in December. Pugh says there have been delays due to software upgrades that Lockheed Martin is performing, which have affected deliveries across U.S. Air Force facilities.
You can see construction that is underway at Dannelly Field in preparation for the F-35’s arrival. Pugh says a $170 million building will be finished next summer that will house spare parts and other equipment. Another building that is under construction will hold eight flight simulators to be used for training.
Overall, he says it will take three years to complete this conversion. He says it’s estimated that this project will have an economic impact of nearly $2 billion on the local area.
