Toledo Base Pursues F-35A Joint Strike Fighter
April 12, 2016
By: Toledo Blade
April 12, 2016
The Air National Guard base at Toledo Express Airport is in contention to get a new mission next decade — home to the new F-35A joint strike fighter, according to the Ohio Adjutant General’s Department.
The U.S. Air Force announced today that the guard base, home of the 180th Fighter Wing, was among 18 nationwide considered for two future bases.
“We are proud of the contributions that the airmen of the 180th Fighter Wing make in support of our national defense, both at home and overseas,” Maj. Gen. Mark E. Bartman, Ohio adjutant general, said in a statement. “That the 180th is among a select group of Air National Guard units from across the nation being considered...really speaks to the high regard held for our Airmen and their record of sustained excellence.”
The 180th now flies F-16 fighter jets.
In February, U.S. Reps. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) and Bob Latta (R., Bowling Green) and U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio) and Rob Portman (R., Ohio) wrote to Deborah Lee James, secretary of the Air Force, urging her to select the 180th to receive the new F-35A fighter.
Later this year, the Air Force will select primary and alternate sites for the F-35A, which then will undergo an environmental review, General Bartman said. After that, the Air Force will recommend the two bases that will field the F-35A, which is scheduled to occur between the summer of 2022, and winter of 2023.