Two Lockheed Martin F-35As touched down at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska on April 21 to begin the equipment of the 354th Fighter Wing (FW) with the type. The unit is the first in the Pacific Air Forces theater command to receive the stealthy fighter after the first pair flew in direct from the Fort Worth, Texas factory with refueling provided by KC-135s. Located in the Fairbanks North Star borough, Eielson is to receive a total of 54 F-35As, with the last scheduled for delivery in December 2021.
Adding F-35As to the 354th FW inventory will make Alaska a concentrated location for stealthy, fifth-generation fighters, with Lockheed Martin F-22As already assigned to the 90th and 525th Fighter Squadrons of the 3rd Wing based at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, near Anchorage.
The first squadron to operate the F-35A at Eielson is the 356th Fighter Squadron (FS) “Green Demons,” which was reactivated in the 354th FW on Oct. 10, 2019. It had previously flown A-10s with the 354th FW at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, before being deactivated in June 1992. In the following year, the 354th itself moved to Eielson to take over from the 343rd FW, a move undertaken to preserve a famous wing number. At the same time, the subordinate 355th FS also moved to Alaska to operate OA/A-10s, before it was deactivated in 2007. It is likely that the 355th will become the second F-35 squadron at Eielson.
As well as hosting tanker, rescue, and reconnaissance units, since 2007 Eielson has become a hub for combat training, with the resident 18th FS “Blue Foxes” with F-16C/D fighters becoming the 18th Aggressor Squadron (AS). As well as providing adversary services for Pacific Air Forces aircraft, including the F-22s and now the F-35s, the 18th AS also provides the bulk of “Red Air” aggressors for the Red Flag-Alaska exercises. They are overseen by the Eielson-based 353rd Combat Training Squadron and conducted in the 75,000 sq m of airspace of the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex.
Delivering F-35s to Eielson means that it becomes the third U.S. Air Force base to house combat-coded Lightning IIs, following Hill AFB, Utah (388th/419th FWs), and Burlington ANGB, Vermont (158th FW). The fourth is scheduled to be RAF Lakenheath in England, assigned to U.S. Air Forces in Europe and earmarked to receive 48 F-35As to operate with two squadrons.
To some, the basing of F-35s in Alaska may appear to be an odd choice given the perception of it being a remote location. However, a glance at a polar-centric map of the world shows that Alaska is surprisingly close to potential hotspots in the Far East and across the North Pole in Europe. As a consequence, the state has become an increasingly important strategic location in recent times, not only as a result of growing tensions in the Arctic but also by providing a base from which aircraft can be deployed rapidly to Europe and the North Pacific region.