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Wisconsin's 115th Fighter Wing Breaks Ground on First Major F-35 Project

Tuesday, August 17th, 2021 -- 2:00 PM

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The Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 115th Fighter Wing officially broke ground on its first major F-35 project Aug. 11, 2021 at Truax Field.

The ceremony brought together military and civilian leadership to commemorate the future of the Madison-based unit as the selected beddown site of the F-35 Lightning II aircraft.

Throughout the beddown process relationships have been strengthened with the Federal Aviation Administration, Dane County Regional Airport, as well as the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, unit leaders said.

While the 115th Fighter Wing has a long history of successfully converting from one aircraft to another, this conversion is thought to be as significant, if not more significant, than moving from propeller driven aircraft to jets in the early 1950s, said Brig. Gen. David May, the deputy adjutant general for air, assigned to the Wisconsin National Guard’s Joint Force Headquarters in Madison.

With such major advances in technology and safety, the F-35 is a critical piece of the president’s national security strategy and will benefit the fighter wing’s mission to provide invaluable homeland defense to the Midwest region, he said.

As a unit that’s comprised of citizen Airmen that come from this community, live in this community and stay for the long haul in this community, it’s no wonder that the fighter wing as a whole lives under the motto ‘Dedicated to Excellence, unit leadership said.

According to May, the men and women of the 115th Fighter Wing are more than just dedicated to excellence, they are the standard bearers for what excellence means in today’s military.

The flight simulator facility is the first of 19 military construction projects the 115th Fighter Wing expects to complete in preparation for the beddown of the F-35 Lightning II, and it marks the beginning of the base’s physical transition for the F-35.

Local building company, J.H. Findorff & Sons, was awarded the $9 million project this spring, and crews began demolition of a 4,600 square foot facility this summer in preparation for the new 19,000 square foot, state-of-the-art simulator facility.

The unit expects to award more than $100 million in construction projects at the base, providing additional opportunities to local construction companies and subcontractors.

Simulators allow pilots to train on various scenarios and in some cases can replace actual flight time. The simulator and the training it provides could ultimately decrease the number of actual aircraft takeoffs and landings required once the aircraft arrives in Madison, according to unit leadership.

Eventually they will be linked with other simulators and aircraft actually flying in what is known as a Live Virtual Construct, which simulates live training. More importantly for the city of Madison, the simulator building will employ locals throughout construction and long after.

(U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Cameron Lewis)


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