by Michael Tilley (mtilley@talkbusiness.net)
With Fort Smith chosen for a foreign pilot training center, members of Arkansas’ Congressional delegation are pushing to secure funding, commitments, and relationships from and with the U.S. Air Force and officials in Singapore.
The Ebbing Air National Guard base, which is home to the 188th Wing in Fort Smith, was selected on June 8, 2021, to be the long-term pilot training center supporting F-16 and F-35 fighter planes purchased by Singapore, Switzerland and other countries participating in the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. The final decision was signed on March 10, clearing the way for Ebbing to be the next home for the 425th Fighter Squadron, a Republic of Singapore F-16 Fighting Falcon training unit now based at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the federal agency managing the FMS, notes that the program provides “responsible arms sales to further national security and foreign policy objectives by strengthening bilateral defense relations, supporting coalition building, and enhancing interoperability between U.S. forces and militaries of friends and allies.”
