HAFB vying to maintain jets

HILL AIR FORCE BASE — Hill Air Force Base is in the running to be the maintenance shop for the jet fighter of the future.

It's trying to secure a maintenance contract for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets. The jets are planned to replace F-16 aircraft in the Air Force, Navy, Marines and other organizations.

Brig. Gen. Arthur Cameron says the facility is a good candidate for the contract, because it has worked on other fighters like the A-10 and F-22 in the past. "We are the fighter center of excellence for the Air Force, so we have kind of been identified," he said. "But the decision as to where it's going to go could be anywhere."

Hill Air Force Base is facing some tough competition throughout the country.

"There are a whole bunch of people that are flying this airplane, all of which are competing to have depots," Cameron said. Cameron said a United States joint program office, made up of officials from each military branch, will decide who gets the contract. "I suspect in a couple months from now some decisions will be made," Cameron said. If Hill Air Force Base does secure the contract, there may need to be some changes to adapt to the new aircraft. But exactly how much potential work exists is still unclear. "They haven't even started making the airplanes yet, so it's kind of hard to say what they are going to do to modify them," he said. "If you use F-16 numbers, you can look on our ramp and see maybe that's about how many airplanes might come our way." The first eight Lockheed Martin-built F-35s are expected to be completed in 2010. The number of planes produced will increase every year after, topping out in 2017, when Cameron said they'll build about 40 to 80 per year.

The plane is designed to be the world's premier strike aircraft through 2040.