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| US Air Force Cancels Deployment F-15EX Fleet At Klamath Falls, Replaced With 20 F35s |
International Military - The US Air Force's (USAF) plan to place its first fleet of F-15EX Eagle IIs at Kingsley Field, Klamath Falls, Oregon to replace the F-15C/D Eagle has been cancelled. All F-15EX and F-15 training will be based at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina.
Furthermore, as a replacement for the F-15EX, Klamath Falls will receive approximately 20 F-35 jets with stealth characteristics. This move was decided just a few years after it was officially announced that the F-15EX would be deployed at Klamath Falls and the 173rd Fighter Wing would resume its duties as an F-15EX training unit.
Air Force plans for a new F-35A Formal Training Unit (FTU) at Kingsley Field were announced a few days ago. Kingsley Field will be the third F-35A FTU after Luke Air Force Base in Arizona and Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
The unit in Oregon will be the first FTU for the F-35A within the Air National Guard (ANG), wrote The Drive. This is because the number of F-35s in the Air National Guard continues to increase. This plan received good response from Oregon Congressman Cliff Bentz.
“This is very good news, great news for realtors in Klamath Falls, housing, schools, healthcare providers. This is a big deal and I am very pleased to have been a small part in making it happen," said Bentz, quoted by KOBI Television in Oregon.