Burlington Tapped As Top Pick To Host F-35 Jet

AP Photo

(Host) Vermont's Air National Guard has moved closer to being designated as the home of the newest generation of fighter jet.

But, as VPR's Ross Sneyd reports, the Guard says it still has to win over skeptics at home.

(Sneyd) General Michael Dubie was still beaming hours after he was informed that the Air Guard was tapped as an "operational base" for the new F-35.

If it wins final approval, Burlington would be the only National Guard base to operate the sophisticated new aircraft.

(Dubie) "Suffice to say that there are a lot of members of the National Guard today that are celebrating good news. This airplane should allow us to move into the future and be on the front lines for America."

(Sneyd) The National Guard currently operates F-16 jets from its base at Burlington International Airport.

But those planes are being phased out and the Guard has its hopes for the future pinned to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

So Vermont's congressional delegation has lobbied hard for the new plane.

The Air Force has decided that F-35s should operate out of Burlington and an active-duty Air Force base in Utah.

It's not a final decision. An environmental analysis won't be finished until this fall. And there's been vocal opposition to the new plane out of concern that it will be noisier than the F-16.

Dubie says he thinks the National Guard can address those concerns through "noise mitigation procedures."

(Dubie) "And we've always tried to fly the airplane in a way that was neighbor friendly. And if we were to use some of those same techniques in the future - because the engine is so powerful and it climbs so quickly and the ability to use a reduced power on takeoff - that maybe the noise won't even be as loud as our F-16s."

(Sneyd) There are some who also don't want any new military jets introduced to Burlington, regardless of the noise.

But Dubie says the National Guard pumps a lot of money into the regional economy and the F-35 would preserve a lot of the 1,100 full-time and part-time jobs at the Air Guard.

(Dubie) "So I think it's important to the airport, to all of Vermont, really. For people who say, ‘Jobs isn't a good reason.' Well, what is a good reason? I think national defense, being part of the operational reserve of America and good jobs is a pretty noble profession. That's how I look at it."

(Sneyd) A final decision on whether about 18 of the new F-35s will be based in Burlington is expected early next year.

For VPR News, I'm Ross Sneyd.