BOISE — Idaho lawmakers are moving ahead with efforts to get the Pentagon to house the military's next-generation tactical fighter jet at Mountain Home Air Force Base, a competition that pits the installation near the Snake River against others that covet the expensive planes.

Brad Hoaglun, a spokesman for U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, said Friday the senator has met with military officials this spring to underscore interest in the Joint Strike Fighter, known as the F-35.

Arizona's Luke Air Force Base, which in recent weeks has announced it's slashing nearly 549 military positions and eliminating 28 F-16 fighter jets, is among other bases vying for the planes.

Utah's Hill Air Force Base also has been mentioned as a possible site for the planes, as have Eielson in Alaska, Shaw in South Carolina, Moody in Georgia and Tyndall and Eglin in Florida.

It will still be two years before the military makes a decision in this high-stakes battle: Rival military communities are banking on new planes and crews necessary to maintain them as a means of bolstering their economies.

Five weeks ago, Mountain Home, Idaho, located about 50 miles east of Boise, sent three representatives to Washington, D.C., to personally lobby the Pentagon. Mayor Tom Rist said the contingent told military officials the location of bombing ranges in the remote desert mountains nearby made an ideal location for the F-35s, because they could save on long fuel-guzzling flights for training and weren't likely to bother more-populated areas with noise pollution.

"From a military standpoint, Mountain Home is a perfect location for the F-35s," Rist said Friday. "We feel we're in the mix."

The $245 billion Joint Strike Fighter project, which foresees the Pentagon eventually buying up to 2,450 of the planes, is among the most expensive weapons program in U.S. history.

On Thursday, the Department of Defense announced it had awarded Lockheed Martin Corp. a $441.9 million addition to its contract for seven more F-35s for the Air Force, seven for the Marine Corps, two for the United Kingdom and one for Netherlands.

Earlier this year, Idaho's congressional delegation sent a letter to Gen. Norton Schwartz, the U.S. Air Force chief of staff, urging him to pick Idaho. Mountain Home's average of 337 flying days annually makes it a great location for pilots to practice maneuvers, they wrote.