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Old 10-14-17, 09:24 AM   #751
Delgard
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Default F-35 JSF

In relation to the JSF and Korea I found that the JSF has been going on for 4-5 years.

As of AUG 2016, “The F-35 program continues to grow and accelerate as we complete additional flight testing and increase deliveries to our U.S. and partner warfighters," said Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, F-35 Joint Program Executive Officer. More than 250 F-35 pilots and 2,400 aircraft maintainers from six nations were trained and more than 110 jets are jointly under construction at both the U.S. and Italian production facilities.

F-35s were flying at eight operating locations: Edwards Air Force Base, California, Eglin AFB, Florida, Hill AFB, Utah, Luke AFB, Arizona, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina, MCAS Yuma, Arizona, Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, and Nellis AFB, Nevada. Jets are also flown at two F-35 depot locations at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina, and the Ogden Air Logistics Complex at Hill AFB, Utah.

“The F-35 program continues to grow and accelerate as we complete additional flight testing and increase deliveries to our U.S. and partner warfighters," said Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, F-35 Joint Program Executive Officer. “The next 50,000 hours will be achieved much quicker as we double the size of the F-35 fleet worldwide in the next three years alone."

Plans called for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to get its first overseas deployment in 2017 to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni. Air Force F-35s probably would head to four bases: Misawa, Japan; Kadena, Japan; Osan Air Base, Korea; and Kunsan Air Base, Korea. The ones at Iwakuni are the ones that I heard about when I was in Japan. I was a big news item there.

These Stateside locations are decisions by service as presented in Aug 2016;

Air Force
Burlington Air Guard Station (AGS), Vermont*
Hill Air Force Base (AFB), Utah*
Jacksonville AGS, Florida
McEntire Joint National Guard Base (JNGB), South Carolina
Mountain Home AFB, Idaho
Shaw AFB, South Carolina

Marine Corps
Yuma MCAS, Arizona

Navy
Lenoore NAS, California

Note: Obviously, Homeland Security aircraft flying out of ANG bases have some priority. The Italian factory is probably servicing European orders and Japan has started receiving. It won't happen overnight, but the General (Aug 2016) stated that over 250 have been built.

As to a Korean deployment, I suspect that the U.S. today, can get 100 forward deployed. Those left behind would consolidate their missions to cover priority missions, If anyone lives near these places, news would be good. When I suggested possible locations I thought more that each Theater COCOM would get a stateside-based squadron and not the Homeland Security needs or I suppose that could be based and do both missions.

For this discussion I thought more about Korea.
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