Disappointingly, in December, Duluth's 148th Fighter Wing was left off a list of air bases being considered for the Air Force's next great fighter jet, the F-35A.
But that doesn't mean Duluth won't ever get the upgrade, the 148th's wing commander, Col. Jon Safstrom, suggested at a chamber-sponsored luncheon this month at the Kitchee Gammi Club. Nor does the snub necessarily spell doom for the Minnesota Air National Guard wing, a fixture in our community for nearly 70 years.
"The technology and keeping ahead of it is important, but it's a huge program," Safstrom said of the rollout of F-35As. "We don't know what the future of the F-35 is or whether it'll come to Duluth. We're certainly ready for it. We'd love to have it."
In the meantime, the Block 50 F-16s the 148th are currently flying are the most advanced and most capable fighter jets in all the Air Force. Being assigned such aircraft is a nod of confidence in the 148th and would seem to bode well for the wing's future. We can remind ourselves of that no matter how persistent the paranoia is after a decade or more of base closures and military cuts.
"The jets that we have right now can actually be upgraded and flown for a long time into the future," Safstrom said. "The bottom line is we're going to continue to advocate for the F-35, but the F-16 Block 50 is a fantastic aircraft and will be viable for many years to come."
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Safstrom said an estimated 1,700 F-35As eventually will replace F-16s at a cost of about $1 trillion. The Air Force said in December that 2,500 F35As will be rolled out as upgrades over more than 20 years. The new model is being counted on to give the U.S. and, so far, 11 partner countries, air superiority through 2070, as the News Tribune reported.
The next two Air National Guard bases to receive F-35As will be from the list of five finalists announced in December. Those bases are in Detroit; Madison, Wis.; Montgomery, Ala.; Boise, Idaho; and Jacksonville, Fla.
The disappointment that Duluth wasn't on the list was made more intense after a lobbying push on behalf of the 148th led by Northeastern Minnesota's delegation in D.C.: U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan and U.S. Sens. Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar. They argued in a letter to Air Force brass that, "The 148th Fighter Wing is an ideal placement for the F-35." Their reasons included our base's modern facilities, with $100 million in construction investment over the past 15 years, and the abundance of airspace over northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and Lake Superior.
The 148th has 400 miles of unimpeded airspace for training - and at an attractive variety of altitudes, Safstrom said.
The fight for the 148th and upgraded jets can continue on many fronts. The future of the base is critical to our community. At stake are the 148th's $80 million-a-year economic impact and its 1,000 full-time and traditional guard jobs. The wing is Duluth's seventh-largest employer. In addition, wing members contribute an estimated 4,700 volunteer hours per year to worthy local causes. And the Duluth air base is home to the only bomb squad in the Northland.
So the disappointment in December aside, Duluth's 148th Fighter Wing can keep flying high - with community support to help assure that it does.
