Apr. 24—The first of 20 F-35 fighter jets will arrive at Truax Field on Tuesday, a culmination of years of controversy and grassroots efforts to keep the aircraft out of the skies over Madison.
Nineteen more jets are expected to start a permanent assignment at the airfield over the next year, said Capt. Leslie Westmont with the Wisconsin Air National Guard's 115th Fighter Wing.
An event not open to the general public, with military officials in attendance, is planned at the base, Westmont said.
In a city where "No F-35" signs still dot yards and residential windows, the arrival of the jets comes amid ongoing uncertainty over what their impact will be on residents who live near Truax and the Dane County Regional Airport.
An Air Force environmental impact found that the presence of the F-35s will increase takeoffs from Truax by 27% and expose more than 1,000 homes to average daily noise of 65 decibels or more — a level deemed "incompatible" with residential use, though not uninhabitable.
Activists opposed to the jets being stationed in Madison have decried that noise and the prospects for other pollution, saying that it will particularly impact low-income residents and people of color.
The Air National Guard has claimed staffing, weather and future deployments might curb the estimated rise in F-35 takeoffs.
In 2020, the Air Force chose two locations — Madison and Montgomery, Alabama — as the two latest Air National Guard locations that will fly the new jets.
In October, the 115th Fighter Wing moved the older generation F-16 fighter jets from Truax in preparation for the arrival of the F-35s.
Truax Field is undergoing a roughly $120 million renovation to accommodate the new jets.
Beyond Madison, the F-35 has faced widespread criticism over bloated costs and technical difficulties.
The roughly 2,500 F-35s the Pentagon plans to acquire from arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin are estimated to cost $1.27 trillion to operate and maintain over the next 66 years, according to the Government Accountability Office.
Hundreds of other jets are being procured by NATO countries, Israel and other U.S. allies. Sales of the jet to NATO-member Turkey were suspended over its purchase of Russian surface-to-air missiles.
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