Valley’s Luke Air Force Base has chance to host Belgium F-35 training
Oct 31, 2019, 12:18 PM
(U.S. Air Force Photo)
(U.S. Air Force Photo)
PHOENIX – Luke Air Force Base outside of Phoenix is under consideration to host a long-term international F-35A training unit, it was announced this week.
Newly sworn-in Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett added the Glendale-area base to the list of candidates for training a unit from Belgium. The program would start in 2023 and last for seven years.
“Because of Luke AFB’s infrastructure and its experience in hosting international F-35 customers, Luke is uniquely suited to provide an optimal training environment for our Belgian Allies,” Barrett said in a statement.
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Barrett, 68, whose ties to the state began when she attended Arizona State University, was sworn in to the post two weeks ago.
The Air Force said the next step for the West Valley air base will be completion of a site survey later this year. The process is designed to confirm the base meets mission, capacity, environmental, and cost criteria.
After that comes the environmental impact analysis.
