Eielson F-35 not yet funded; has Pentagon support
By Sam Friedman
April 11, 2016
Alaska’s new F-35 Joint Strike Fighters haven’t been funded yet, but they have a good chance of making it through Congress, according to a military adviser for U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
Last week, the Air Force announced it plans to station 54 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters at Eielson Air Force Base starting in 2020. But first they have to be built at Lockheed Martin Corp.’s Fort Worth, Texas plant and funded by Congress.
The project has good prospects in Congress because senior Department of Defense leaders support the program, said Nathan Bergerbest, a senior adviser to Murkowski.
“What DoD (Department of Defense) wants is really, really, really important. It is not typical that anybody (in Congress) would take DoD’s top priority and say ‘We don’t believe you,’” he said. “You’re not going to see a reduction in the F-35 program.”
