Cherry Point vies for Joint Strike Fighter

February 20, 2009 by Jeff Aydelette

An ambitious plan to locate a hundred or more stealth fighter jets, with a price tag of $85 million each, at Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station got a generally warm reception last week during a ‘public scoping’ meeting at the elementary school in Bayboro.
A dozen representatives from the base were there to answer questions about the high-tech aircraft -- one of many steps required to compile an Environmental Impact Statement, expected to be released late next year.
Known as the National Environmental Policy Act team, the Cherry Point operatives brought slick, full-color charts and handouts. Reports that noise levels emitted by the new jets might be onerous, particularly in parts of Pamlico County lying under routine flight paths, were not specifically addressed.
Ironically, a continuous-play video depicting the astounding features of the new aircraft had its soundtrack set for mute.
The U.S. Armed Forces has commissioned three different versions of the Lockheed Martin manufactured Joint Strike Fighter F-35.
The Marine Corps model, known as the F-35B, adds another military acronym, STOVL, to describe the aircraft’s ‘short takeoff, vertical landing’ capabilities.
Separate styles to meet the specifications of the Navy and the Air Force are also in the works. Eight countries have partnered with the United States on the program, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Australia, Turkey and Denmark. Israel and Singapore are also considering purchases.
Each version of the F-35, also known as the Lightning II, has a massive 40,000 lb. thrust engine, dwarfing the propulsion package of the beefy, but older F-16 and F-18 fleet. The new jet can cruise at 1.6 times the speed of sound -- more than 1,200 miles per hour.
Despite the potential for ear-splitting noise from huge rocket-like engines, most of the 40 area residents who popped in for a look-see focused on the economic impact of the new jet fighters, and the recession-resistant industry that might ensue.
The stop was the last of six over the past two weeks. Earlier this month, the road show visited areas around a sister Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort, S.C.
Beaufort and Cherry Point are vying to share a total of 216 aircraft and a pair of Pilot Training Centers. Over the next two years, five different ‘alternatives’ will be reviewed for impacts upon the environment.
At both Marine Corps facilities, the F-35Bs will operate and train at the same locations where Harriers, Prowlers, and Hornets have flown for years. Phasing out the older aircraft is a costly and challenging process that could take the better part of a decade.
More than one presenter suggested the pair of pilot training centers will be the biggest job-generator, greatly increasing the number of sorties and training flights. Printed materials predict the training component will produce “a larger number of airfield operations” than either base is currently conducting.
One presumable advantage for Cherry Point is its proximity to existing bombing ranges -- BT-9 and BT-11 in Pamlico Sound, a range in Dare County, and a third to the south near Camp Lejeune.
The Joint Strike Fighters at both bases will also conduct air-to-air training over vast chunks of the Atlantic, directly off the coasts of the two Carolinas.
Although noise is a concern, performance of the new aircraft is also being debated. A Los Angeles Times news article last September cited recent computerized simulations, which allegedly showed the F-35 coming up short in head-to-head comparisons with the Russian Sukhoi jet. The Air Force and Lockheed Martin Corp. have downplayed those reports.
For more information, or to submit comments about the various basing alternatives, go to the website www.usmcJSFeast.com.

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