Bit by bit, a fleet of new, state-of-the-art fighter aircraft is coming to a Air National Guard base in western Massachusetts.
F-35As are already soaring fast and loud through the Pioneer Valley.
As commanders tell WAMC, their arrival means better protection for the Northeast – and security for the base’s future.
If conditions are right and all systems are go, it’s commonplace these days to see and hear a pair of F-35As soaring across the Pioneer Valley skyline.
They’re easy to spot taking off or landing if you’re driving down Route 202 in Westfield. They are even easier to hear, even if you’re indoors.
For the past few months, Barnes Air National Guard Base has already been hosting several of the fighters – loaners taking the place of the 104th Fighter Wing’s F-15s - the last of which departed last October, according to Air & Space Forces Magazine.
Major General Gary Keefe, the 43rd adjutant general of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, says had the modernization not happen, Barnes’s future prospects weren’t looking especially bright.
“Besides the fact that you would have lost the Air Guard Wing that is responsible for the air sovereignty from New Jersey all the way up to Canada, protecting [the corridor] from hypersonics and threats - this base would have closed,” he explained. “That means a lot of jobs and a lot of money being pumped into Western Massachusetts would certainly have dried up. That, combined with the fact we have a highly successful civilian airport here in Westfield - a lot of those services are taken care of with federal military dollars as part of the arrangement we have.”
The major general, along with 104th personnel and others spoke with reporters earlier this month, right after leadership put on a formal welcoming ceremony for the aircraft on Sept. 13 – complete with a fighter adorned with a “104 FW” and “MA” on its tail.
As 104th Fighter Wing Commander Colonel Michael Glass tells it – the non-loaners built specifically for Massachusetts will begin steadily arriving in October as Lockheed Martin rolls them out.
The new fighters, believed to cost at least $92 million each in some cases, come with their own learning curve, he added.
Glass - his callsign being “Shot Glass” - says he’s been able to get in over a year’s worth of training so far. Compared to the decades-old F-15s, the new aircraft boasts new tech and more computer hardware – but handles well.
“They're the best - all the jets showed up exactly as they're supposed to and our maintainers were able to jump right in and start working on them,” he recounted, adding that units in Florida, Alabama and several other states contributed to the loaner program. “Our pilots started flying them right away, as soon as they showed up. It's been a phenomenal working relationship with those units that have loaned us those airplanes.”
When all is said and done, Barnes is expected to house 20 F‑35A Lightning II aircraft. Keefe says a simulator to assist with training is also in the works, though the base is waiting for federal funding to assist with that.
For now, personnel have been making the trip to Vermont to use the 158th Fighter Wing’s simulation facilities in Burlington.
Funding for a western Mass. simulator may take some time, but as Congressman Richard Neal recounted to the base’s some 1,000 personnel and their families last week – so did getting the F-35s themselves.
“I won't name the other states that were in competition with us, but they all had a good story to tell and, at the beginning, we sort of thought this might be a long shot - I think that's a fair estimate,” Neal said, recounting early conversations held with then-Air Force Secretary, Frank Kendall, and various pitches made to federal authorities. “But, time and again, this base, because of its leadership and your advocacy in the audiences, has demonstrated its great value. From Concord and Lexington, here on the 250th birthday of this great nation, to the Strait of Hormuz, the Guard continues to play a very important role, and the 104th is no exception.”
There were other hoops for the base to jump through before the fighter craft arrived. To be a “preferred base” for the 5th generation fighters, new base infrastructure, including checkpoints and gates, had to materialize, along with a revamped and expanded taxiway.
Both projects were either underway or wrapping up by 2024, a year after Barnes learned it would be getting the new fighters.
Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll says millions of dollars in state investments also went into both ventures.
The state’s defense sector itself is something Driscoll says Beacon Hill is looking to bolster – adding to the $236 million annual impact past reports have suggested Barnes alone has on the immediate area.
Driscoll pointed to the General Dynamics facilities in Pittsfield as an example.
“We know we have an advanced manufacturing strong suit in Western Mass., whether it's in things like advanced optics … General Dynamics is already doing advanced manufacturing - we want to leverage those skillsets and partner them with other defense sector needs,” she said. “We're actually nurturing that relationship between smaller outfits and the needs of larger outfits - particularly focused on onshoring and workforce pipeline. There's a ready workforce pipeline in Western Mass. to help grow and expand some of these missions – we’re working very closely with General Dynamics on how … to get more of a workforce pipeline, livable wages, good jobs..."
A roadmap for growing said defense economy was recently released by the Healey administration, though some exact next steps are up in the air – not unlike the 104th’s F-35As, tasked with around-the-clock protection of the nation’s Northeast corridor.
