The Air Force describes the F-35 as its fifth-
generation fighter, combining stealth
technology with speed and agility. Different
models are being built for the Air Force, Navy
and Marines and are being sold to U.S. allies
across the world.
It is also the U.S. military’s most expensive
weapons system of all time, with an estimated
total cost of $1.5 trillion over the expected half-
century life of the program. The model of plane
that will be based in Burlington cost about $94
million each.
Assigning F-35s, which are designed to replace
a number of aging fighter models, to Vermont
shows the days are long gone when Air National
Guard units received hand-me-down aircraft
while new planes went exclusively to active
duty Air Force units, said Ian Bryan, a retired
Tennessee Air National Guard pilot who worked
in Washington as a legislative liaison with the
National Guard Bureau.
Vermont, and the Guard, are at the forefront of
learning how to make the best use of the new
airplanes, he said.
“Ten years from now, we need to have figured
out how to use this F-35 thing, and it’s going to
be the lead as the wings fall off some of these
old airplanes,” Bryan said.
Vermont Air Guard Lt. Col. Tony “Scrappy” Marek,
one of the pilots who flew to Burlington, said
flying the F-35 is similar to the F-16 he used to fly.
“It’s been over a decade in the making,” Market
said. “It’s a remarkable airplane. ... It does truly
amazing things, and I’m really excited to be able
to fly it.”