WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Air Force announced Thursday that it has selected two sites as the preferred locations for the next two Air National Guard F-35A bases.
The two sites are Truax Field Air National Guard Base in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, and Dannelly Field in Alabama.
Heather Wilson, secretary of the Air Force, said they will "increase Air National Guard F-35A units providing 5th Generation airpower around the world."
"As F-35As arrive at these locations, we will use the existing aircraft at these fields to replace the aging F-16s at other Air National Guard units," he added.
The F-35 family includes three variants which are all single-seat jets: the F-35A conventional takeoff and landing variant, the F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing variant, and the F-35C carrier variant.
The F-35A is designed to replace many of the 4th generation Air Force aircraft. But the service will continue to deploy a mix of 5th and 4th generation fighter jets into the 2040s.
The Air Force reportedly expects the F-35As to begin arriving at Truax Field in early 2023 and at Dannelly Field later that year.
The two sites stay as preferred alternatives until the Air Force makes the final decisions after required evaluations are complete.
The Air Force said it also considered bases in states of Idaho, Michigan and Florida in this round of decisions. Those locations were reasonable alternatives, but not preferred.
The F-35 program, principally funded by the United States, is the most expensive military weapons system in history, but it has been under criticism for cost overrun and delayed delivery.
U.S. weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin Corp, the major contractor for the program, has delivered more than 265 F-35 aircraft to the United States and international customers.
