WASHINGTON — A squadron of the Air Force's most cutting-edge fighters could arrive at Hill Air Force Base in 2009, securing the base's future and potentially boosting the state's economy, the Air Force said Wednesday.

The Air Force plans to begin an environmental analysis with the aim of using Hill to house operational squadrons for the F-35A Lightning II, a stealth fighter intended to be the replacement for F-16 and A-10 fighters, which will eventually be phased out.

>No A-10 squadrons are based at Hill, although the base does maintenance work on the planes for other bases. But Hill is home to three squadrons of F-16s, or about 70 of those planes.

The study could take up to two years, and the first plane could be delivered by 2009, the Air Force said. As many as 24 of the F-35A aircraft, also known as Joint Strike Fighters, could come to the Utah base.

Just last week, the defense spending bill passed by Congress included $5.5 million for a public-private partnership by Utah-based Alliant Techsystems Inc. and Hill's Ogden Air Logistics Center to improve production of composite-technology parts needed for the F-35A.

Rep. Rob Bishop's senior policy adviser on defense, Steve Petersen, said the environmental study is just a formality, meaning the planes are more than likely to come to Utah.

"We don't foresee any show-stoppers there," Petersen said.

He said the Air Force's announcement was as big for Utah as when Hill learned it would get F-16s in 1979. The new jets will bring personnel and resources to the base, and will almost certainly protect the base from future closure considerations, he said.

"It cements the role of Hill Air Force Base and the Ogden Air Logistics Center in the future as the premier fighter depot," Petersen said.

Bishop, R-Utah, represents the 1st District, which includes Hill Air Force Base. He said he always believed the base was a "natural location" for the new jets but "never wanted to take it for granted."

"As the Air Force aircraft inventory ages and budget pressures increase, obtaining the latest and most technologically capable weapons system at our base is crucial," Bishop said.

Rick Mayfield, executive director of the Utah Defense Alliance, agreed that the F-35As will help shore up the future of Hill Air Force Base. The alliance, which has been in existence since 1993 to fight periodic rounds of base realignments and closures, most recently lobbied to keep Hill off the Department of Defense's chopping block in 2005.

If Hill had closed in 2005, it would have devastated the economy in northern Utah. As the largest employer in Davis County, Hill employs about 23,000 people and pumps $2 billion into Utah's economy, Mayfield said.