Good news for the local economy this morning, as the Standard-Examiner reveals that Hill Air Force Base is apparently on the inside track for deployment of the first two operational squadrons for the advanced F-35 stealth fighter.
Congressman Rob Bishop said he was informed Thursday by top Air Force Officials that Hill Air Force Base (AFB) has been selected as the Air Force's "preferred alternative" for the location of the first two operational squadrons for the advanced F-35 stealth fighter.For those who are unaware, Hill AFB is "one of Utah's most significant magnets of economic activity," according to the Utah Economic Development Department:
Operation could begin as early as July 2013, according to Bishop in a press release out of Washington, D.C.
Officials indicated that Hill would likely obtain a third operational squadron mid-2019, assuming the F-35 program remains funded and on-course, he said.
Covering parts of Davis and Weber Counties, Hill AFB is the largest single site employer in the state. It accounts for nearly 50,000 direct and indirect jobs, pumps approximately $3.6 billion annually into the Utah economy, creating $2.3 billion in personal income and annual state tax revenue of $192 million, according to estimates for 2009 from the University of Utah's Bureau of Economic and Business Research, which studied the economic impact of closing Hill AFB prior to the last round of military base realignment and closure (BRAC) efforts.With the recent paring down of HAFB mission capability, it's great to observe that we're first in line to replace the old with the new, technology-wise.
Yesiree, the F-35 is one hot bird; and it would be great to have a few squadrons of these parked in Emerald City's back yard for the next few decades. More... ? Just axin'
And a quick cautionary note to our Utah GOP congressional delegation. Please be extra nice to President Obama over the next few months. As this morning's article emphasizes, "the decision is not one-hundred percent concrete until the final Environmental Impact Statement is complete." Whatever you do, GOP Senators Hatch and Bennett, and GOP Congressmen Bishop and Chaffetz, try to not screw this up.
A word to the wise is sufficient, we hope.
10 comments:
Lockheed F-35 JSF Flight Testing Montage
What! You want Northern Utah's economy to be kept in thrall to the Federal Government decades into the future by having F-35s based at Hill?
What are you, Rudi? Some kind of commie? And is Bishop? I thought he was against relying on federal spending so much, and favored a smaller federal footprint in Utah. Oh, wait... I forgot. He's only in favor of a smaller federal economic footprint in other congressional districts, not in his own. [ATK, Hill, etc.]
Thankfully, I'm sure Candidate Lee [R for US Senate] will speak out against this blatant DC attempt to sap the independence of Utah further by increasing federal spending at Hill.
Right?
One can hope that if Hill is selected for the F-35 program they practice better inventory control than they do with various nuclear componets.
F-35B - Taking STOVL to a New Level
F-35B JSF Carrier Practice take-off & landing
Rudi
Being an airplane buff I agree with you that this is a very fine bird and it is hopefully going to be a good thing for the local economy. However, it is still a massive boondoggle.
The current main stays of the Air Force fighters are F-16's and F-15's, both at least 30 year old initial designs (although they have been upgraded enormously over those years). In spite of their age, there is no other airplanes owned by any other nations that come close to their abilities to kill the enemy (whoever that is anymore).
Bottom line, I think both the F-35 and the new F-22 are both completely unnecessary and out of line with the real world. No one can even come close to the US Air Force now and no country who can be considered an enemy has anything remotely close in their pipe lines.
These two airplanes (F-22 & F-35) and their associated billions and billions of dollars from the tax payers to design and build them are only good for enriching the powerful corporations who build them and furthering the careers of the politicians who who promote them and who receive huge financial contributions from those corporations in return.
I guess one could say that in spite of that they are good for the economy as they put a lot of cash into it and they employ a lot of people. That positive however is countered by the inflationary aspects of of big government projects when huge amounts of money are pumped into the economy without a corresponding amount of goods being produced to compete for those dollars. (The public will not be buying these birds!)
All of these billions spent on these airplanes could be spent in a way that would directly benefit the public instead of the big corporations and politicians. As government spending this would still be inflationary, but at least society would benefit with the increases in literacy and infrastructure that could be gained by re-directing this huge pile of cash.
President Eisenhower warned the world about the "Military Industrial Compex" over 50 years ago, I believe this kind of madness is precisely what he had in mind with that warning.
Stop War.
Stop Massive War Profiteering.
Hasten the change from a Military Industrial Complex, into a Peaceful Industrial Complex.
War is madness.
Yeah right, "Death."
Like your peacenik views will change the danger of the jagged human condition:
Oh Death
"Get Real"
Are you insinuating that we need a fleet of Hundred and Twenty Million Dollar each jets to deal with the KKK or other related wacko hate groups?
That is great news for the active duty, but the contractor will keep most of the maintenance contracts. When they retire the F-16 the main depot work they will need to cut the civilians.
Lockheed Martin is the big winner in this billion dollar investment.
I see the politicians getting jobs with Lockheed Martin soon.
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