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Mexico Wants F-35 FightersNew Mexico Wants F-35 FightersNew Mexico Wants F-35 FightersNew Mexico Wants F-35 FightersWere the Pentagon to base the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter at Cannon AFB, N.M., instead of Eglin AFB, Fla., taxpayers would save at least $170 million, say lawmakers from New Mexico. With that argument, they hope to get Cannon off the BRAC closure list. The Clovis (NM) News-Journal notes that Democratic Sen. Jeff Bingaman says that $167 million of the $209 million slated for Eglin would pay for infrastructure that Cannon already has. Republican Sen. Pete Domenici noted that Cannon also has pilot training experience.
Contracts for F-35 airframes in Lot 18 and 19 should be signed in the spring, but an engine deal is still not in hand and could take months longer. The delays don't seem to be driven by anticipation of how the new Trump administration will influence the program.