Good news for the Central Valley as the US Navy has given a preliminary nod to basing the West Coast squadron of the next generation of stealth fighters at NAS Lemoore rather than El Centro near San Diego. The F-35C has been developed as the Navy’s next strike-fighter aircraft as a replacement to FA-18C Hornet.
“Beginning in 2016, seven Navy Pacific Fleet FA-18 squadrons (70 total aircraft) currently based at NAS Lemoore would progressively transition to the new F-35C aircraft, with the transition to be complete by 2028. In the 2017 timeframe, the west coast F-35C training squadron (also known as Fleet Replacement Squadron or FRS), consisting of approximately 30 aircraft, will be established to meet the requirements for training Navy pilots” says a Navy news release dated February 14.
The Navy has set March 19 for a public meeting in Lemoore to discuss the findings of the 2 year impact study.In January 2011 he Navy narrowed down its list of potential home bases from 134 military air facilities in the continental U.S. and found that Lemoore and El Centro “best meet Navy F-35C requirements.”
If the Navy had picked El Centro – locals feared the impact would hit Kings County hard.
A 2008 economic assessment study found the Lemoore base contributed $161 million in labor income annually to the local economy and counting the spinoffs – has a total economic impact of just under $1 billion every year. The total population associated with the local base that straddles Kings and Fresno Counties is around 44,000 says the study.
That will grow with the basing of the new fighters here.The Navy established the Kings County base in 1961, the newest West Coast base. NAS Lemoore now hosts the Navy’s entire west coast fighter/attack capability.
