FAIRBANKS -- The Air Force announced details Thursday of plans to conduct an environmental impact statement on a proposal to base two squadrons of F-35s at Eielson Air Force Base, a step that provides formal assurance of the expansion effort announced last August.
The website set up by the Air Force says that "current missions would remain at the base."
In previous statements, the Air Force had said that the F-16 squadron at Eielson might be moved to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage or to Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.
The 48 F-35A jets would be accompanied by as many as 3,000 active-duty personnel, Fairbanks business leaders believe. The F-35, still in the development stage by Lockheed Martin, has seen numerous schedule delays and cost overruns over the past 14 years. About 120 of the jets are now flying at nine U.S. bases, according to the news agency Reuters.
The decision to base the jets at Eielson is for the Pacific Air Forces Area of Responsibility, which extends from the West Coast of the U.S. to the East Coast of Africa.
The Air Force has set public scoping meetings at the North Pole Worship Center from 6-8 p.m. March 24; 6-8 p.m. March 25 at the Westmark Hotel in Fairbanks; and 6-8 p.m. March 26 at the Alaskan Steakhouse and Motel in Delta Junction. The scoping meetings are to identify community concerns to be analyzed as part of the impact statement.
The statement is to include a "no-action" alternative, the Air Force said, to serve as a benchmark for the study.