Homestead Air Reserve Base in line for 24 combat aircraft
Environmental studies underway for two years to determine whether Homestead Air Reserve Base will get two 24 F-35A combat planes should be finished in summer, said US Air Force spokesperson Laura M. McAndrews.
The Homestead Base is one of four under consideration to receive the new aircraft, which will replace outmoded F-16s now in use – but right now a competing base in Fort Worth is the frontrunner.
“Air Force officials announced Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth, TX, as the preferred location for the first Air Force Reserve-led F-35 base in January 2017,” Ms. McAndrews said, “but Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, Homestead Air Reserve Base and Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri are considered reasonable alternatives during the environmental analysis process that must be completed before the Air Force makes a final basing decision.”
The F-35A’s advanced sensors gather and distribute more information than any fighter in history, according to Military.com, one of the largest online military and veteran membership organizations in the country – making the new fighter jet “an indispensable tool in future homeland defense, joint and coalition irregular warfare, and major combat operations.”
Homestead Air Force Base, which officially opened in 1942, was virtually demolished by Hurricane Andrews in 1992. After massive rebuilding it was re-designated Homestead Air Reserve Base in 1994.
In fiscal 2018, the economic impact of the base on South Florida totaled more than $331 million, up 50% from 2008, according to the base finance office. This figure includes more than $185 million in construction, services and material contracts to local businesses. Its website says the base employs more than 1,400 persons full-time who live in Homestead and South Dade. Another 1,700 Air Force reservists drill monthly at the base.
Dinarachel
February 6, 2020 at 9:09 am
Yes! Go F-35A’s at Homestead Air Reserve Base! South Florida wants you… #bringitback to its full glory days.
Frank Gentner
February 6, 2020 at 12:34 pm
F-35s are much noisier than F-16s, with some studies disputing this.
POPULAR MECHANICS HAS ARTICLE:https://bit.ly/2vm0VE8
Stars and Stripes reports on communities near Boise, Idaho and their effort to identify the noise impact of F-35 basing at Boise Airport. The Pentagon is considering basing an Air National Guard F-35 unit at Boise Airport, and a 1,099 page environmental impact statement for the base has some grim news. “The statement said 272 households with about 665 people would regularly be subjected to noise as loud as a vacuum cleaner 3 feet away.”
Those houses would likely become unlivable. Nearby schools would experience “speech interference,” meaning it would become difficult to hold conversations at a normal volume.
One of the F-35’s lesser known, at least on a national level, problems is how noisy it is. This has become an issue in communities surrounding military air bases around the country. As the F-35 is set to replace older jets such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon, AV-8B Harrier, and F/A-18 Hornet, communities are organizing against a jet many see as a threat to their quality of life.
The problem started after World War II, as cities declined as popular areas for settlement and a demand demand for single family homes in suburban areas grew. Suburban sprawl tilted towards cheap land and inexorably closed in on military bases. Many military bases across America, often built miles from population centers, are now practically ringed with civilian communities.
The situation in Boise mirrors that in other communities across America. In Vermont, the “Green Mountain Boys” of the Vermont Air National Guard are trading in their F-16s for 18 F-35s, and neighbors around Burlington International Airport are unhappy with reports that 962 units of housing will be affected by noise issues. Residents living near Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in South Carolina expressed similar concerns although those have seemingly died down. Some residents in and around Madison, Wisconsin—a competitor for the same F-35 jets as Boise—also expressed the same concerns (though that being said, public commentary ran 4:1 in support of the jets.)
Is the noise problem overblown? There’s evidence to suggest that the F-35 being noisier than its predecessor is more perception than reality. A survey of Dutch residents living near the Royal Netherlands Air Force F-35 jets suggests the planes are actually quieter than the F-16s they replaced, with the new jet perceived as less noisy. Noise measuring equipment used by the Dutch government measured the F-35 at 109 decibels, three decibels less than the F-16 at 112 decibels.
Linda Kendall
February 8, 2020 at 9:10 am
Hurricane Andrew destroyed Homestead and surrounding cities. All retired people in the area moved on as all facilities were closed down. I would love to hear the jets flying overhead again ! I truly miss them.
Good luck.
Jeffrey J. Hill
February 8, 2020 at 1:21 pm
It would be fantastic to see the 135s in South Florida. “Yes sir! Hearing fighter jets roaring through the sky overhead would definitely cause my heart to start beating faster.”
Brooke Weisleder
February 9, 2020 at 7:35 pm
We live close to the Homestead Base and do not appreciate the noise made by the existing fighter jets.
I assume that the new model, F35, will be as noisy or louder than the current jet fighters. They make a tremendous amount of noise.
Joyce Wood
February 14, 2020 at 10:31 pm
the base has been here long before most of us ever moved here I have lived here 48 years. They are here to protect and serve this great country. Really, noise?
John
February 18, 2020 at 2:48 pm
As previously commented, HAFB has been here far longer before all the surrounding over development of this area. Reserve units such as Homestead currently hosts, fly far less than active duty bases. When Homestead was a full fledged air base, it hosted Phantom F-4s. Those things were far louder and there want the outcry from residents about noise! I know. I am an Air Force vet stationed at Homestead! I wonder what the comments of those against this would be if Homestead were still an active base! Again, the base was there long before you bought your house in the area! Something you obviously did not take into consideration. AS IS POSTED ON MANY FRONT GATES OF BASES AROUND THE U.S. IT IS “THE SOUND OF FREEDOM”!!!
Hank S
April 13, 2020 at 7:55 pm
well said John, thank you for your service.
Duane
February 15, 2020 at 1:25 pm
The F-35 is four times louder than the F-16. I am registering 100 decibels inside my house now with the F16s. It is pure madness to put F35s in a major metropolitan area. The county commissioners have approved housing for over two thousand residents right across from base. We need to start a Facebook group to stop this. There are so many other lower noise aircraft they could base here that are more compatible with an urban environment.
John
February 18, 2020 at 2:50 pm
Where are you at the end of the runway!
Edward Redlich
February 17, 2020 at 6:17 pm
It is what makes Homestead, Homestead. A $300M+ annual economic engine. They sound like jobs, money and FREEDOM! USA!
JAMES MONAHAN
February 19, 2020 at 6:32 am
Noise? I have lived next to the base for the last 11 years (Waterstone). The fighter jets do not fly 24/7, I rarely hear them fly and love it when they do. I do not buy the noise argument, bring in the F-35’s!
Gabriel Machado
February 21, 2020 at 1:51 pm
The urban area has grown a lot. It’s time to move the airbase out of the urban area. Let them build an island and move it.
Joyce Wood
February 22, 2020 at 1:30 am
It’s the sound of FREEDOM!! Something everyone takes for granted these days. I bet the soldiers and marines rejoice at the sound when they’re pinned down and those jets light up the night sky like nobody’s business.
But I guess that means nothing to you. I say bring in the F35’s and more.
Duane L Smith
March 5, 2020 at 5:35 pm
@John I am 1/2 mile north of runway that runs east west. Sound contours drop off rapidly past 1 mile from runway. County commissioners just approved housing for over three thousand residents right next to runway. Been staying on MacDill AFB last couple of weeks, no sound problems: no fighter jets either.