The U.S. Air Force will allocate at least $500 million for the construction of facilities at Eielson Air Force Base that will house the Lockheed Martin-built F-35 Lightning II fighter jets, Newsminer reported Wednesday.Sam Friedman writes that work at the base would include 46 construction, remodeling or demolition projects until the arrival of the F-35s in 2020.
354th Fighter Wing Commander Col. Mike Winkler indicated that $37 million would be allotted for fiscal 2016, $296 million for the following year and a projected $200 million for 2018, the report said.
Friedman reports the planned projects include the construction of a six-bay flight simulator building that is scheduled to begin in September.
The decision to house F-35s at Eielson AFB would facilitate access to 65,000 square miles of available airspace to train Air Force pilots on the fifth-generation fighter jets.
