A new main gate at a Massachusetts airbase will do more than just welcome personnel – it’s also a key step toward welcoming new F-35s to the premises.
Updating security and infrastructure at Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield has been a must for the 104th Fighter Wing before it transitions to F-35A aircraft.
In early 2023, the base made up of about 1,000 personnel was selected to receive a new fleet of the multi-role fighters, replacing at least 18 aging F-15s.
It’ll be mid-2026 when the first new fighter jets arrive, with the base improving infrastructure ahead of time. That includes the new, modern “Minuteman Gate” off of Southampton Road, says Colonel Michael Glass.
“When the base was originally built back in the 50s, the anti-terrorism and protection measures were just not the same as they are today, and what was needed was essentially a gate that keeps us all safe from the types of threats we expect to possibly be a factor,” he told WAMC. “It was a $6.7 million project, and … we're very lucky to have the infrastructure we need moving forward as we modernize the base.”
Speaking at a ribbon-cutting for the gate on Thursday, Glass said “the venture was first initiated in 2007,” and became part of the base’s master plan as a “critical security requirement for current and future missions.”
Planning started in 2018, with construction beginning five years later and the gate starting operations last month – fully-replacing the previous gate that dated back to the 1950s.
“In fact, without this upgrade, we would not be the preferred base for future, 5th-generation fighters that we are,” he said during the ceremony.
Joining Glass Thursday were a number of state and local officials, including Governor Maura Healey and Congressman Richard Neal of the 1st district.
Adjutant General of the Massachusetts National Guard, Major General Gary Keefe, remarked how, with defense dollars having dried up in the past, the number of years between each new military construction project Massachusetts sees only seems to be increasing – making the state’s decision to step in and assist with funding the gate crucial.
“About two months ago, we were told ‘you will get a military construction project once every 14 years,’ so we can’t keep up,” Keefe said. “Massachusetts was forward-thinking enough, and innovative enough, to basically learn the understanding of investing state dollars, in order to show their dedication and that [the state] understand[s] the importance of bases like this, of bases like Westover, of the armories that are throughout the Commonwealth.”
According to Neal, funding for the project involved a federal and state partnership, including about $4.7 million from the Commonwealth.
Healey noted a combined $28 million in state investments have gone into the airport that hosts the 104th – responsible for providing around-the-clock protection from airborne threats for the Northeast.
“The 104th Fighter Wing of the US Air National Guard has proven itself to be world-class: you're delivering on that immense responsibility that is defending the people of our country,” the governor said. “I'm proud to say that because of your efforts, and the efforts of so many around me here, hustling, working hard, we're going to get those F 35s up here in just a couple of years.”
According to construction consultant firm, Ellana Inc., the gate’s made up of a 300-square-foot gate house with 1,200 square feet of overhead protection, as well as two lanes of “POV checkpoints.”
There’s also a 1,200-square foot “commercial vehicle inspection bay,” complete with security fencing, passive vehicle barriers and other amenities.
