Fort Smith officials hear about noise concerns, new rules related to foreign pilot training center

by Tina Alvey Dale (tdale@talkbusiness.net)

Some Fort Smith residents – including a former Fort Smith Regional Airport manager – expressed concerns Thursday (April 25) about noise levels in the city when F-35 fighter jets begin arriving this summer as part of the Foreign Military Sales program.

Ebbing Air National Guard Base, home to the 188th Wing in Fort Smith and co-located with the Fort Smith Regional Airport, was selected in March 2023 by the U.S. Air Force to be the long-term pilot training center supporting F-16 and F-35 fighter planes purchased by Singapore, Switzerland, Poland, Germany, Finland and other countries participating in the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Initial estimates are that 1,500 military personnel and family members will be associated with the new center once it is fully operational.

U.S. Air Force officials have said the earliest planes and pilots from foreign nations could arrive at Ebbing would be in late 2024, part of the military’s fiscal year 2025 beginning in September 2024. The full complement of 12 F-16s and 24 F-35s from various nations could arrive in fiscal year 2026 at the earliest. It has been estimated that the full cost to create an operational foreign pilot training center will range between $700 million and $800 million.

Fort Smith officials hear about noise concerns, new rules related to foreign pilot training center

Berend Verheijen Image

$83 million approved for foreign pilot training center in Fort Smith

by Michael Tilley (mtilley@talkbusiness.net)

“Significant” federal funding has been approved for work in the ongoing effort to establish a foreign pilot training center in Fort Smith, but more will be needed for the estimated $765 million to complete the unique U.S. Air Force project.

The office of U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., announced Monday (March 11) that $83 million was approved in the MilCon-VA bill recently approved by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden. The primary focus of the bill was to provide additional funds and programs for veterans’ healthcare but it included money for other projects.

“This bill helps ensure Ebbing Air National Guard Base will become the premier pilot training center in the U.S. and reinforces our commitments to allies participating in the future pilot training mission in Fort Smith. Providing the necessary infrastructure and resources now will elevate the installation into a vital national security asset that enhances America’s deterrence posture well into the future. The repeated delays in advancing this critical funding across the finish line were unfortunate, but I appreciate the persistence of my colleagues in the Senate and House of Representatives to find common ground and deliver certainty for several federal agencies in allocating taxpayer dollars more wisely and efficiently,” Boozman said in the statement.

$83 million approved for foreign pilot training center in Fort Smith

The F-35

‘Arresting system’ work begins at Fort Smith Regional Airport

by Michael Tilley (mtilley@talkbusiness.net)

Having just completed a $17 million runway extension, Fort Smith Regional Airport officials are now working on adding an almost $18 million “arresting system” on the main runway. Both projects are to prep for the military’s foreign pilot training center at the airport.

Work is also set to begin in early 2024 on expansion of a fire station at the airport to accommodate the new training center.

Ebbing Air National Guard Base, home to the 188th Wing in Fort Smith and co-located with the Fort Smith Regional Airport, was selected in March by the U.S. Air Force to be the long-term pilot training center supporting F-16 and F-35 fighter planes purchased by Singapore, Switzerland, Poland, Germany, Finland and other countries participating in the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Initial estimates are that 1,500 military personnel and family members will be associated with the new center once it is fully operational.

‘Arresting system’ work begins at Fort Smith Regional Airport

‘Deep work’ ongoing to establish foreign pilot training center in Fort Smith

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.”

https://talkbusiness.net/2023/04/deep-work-ongoing-to-establish-foreign-pilot-training-center-in-fort-smith/