The Federal Aviation Administration overturned its decision to shutter the air traffic control tower at Kingsley Field, Ore., according to officials with the state Air National Guard’s 173rd Fighter Wing, the F-15 unit that operates there. The tower was on FAA’s chopping block due to budget sequestration, according to the wing’s April 5 release. However, Rep. Greg Walden (R), in whose congressional district the installation falls, came to the tower’s defense, urging the FAA to reconsider its plan since, he asserted, closing the tower posed “a risk to both public safety and national defense.” Local civic leaders and wing leadership also drafted a petition to keep the control tower open. In late March, the FAA released a list of the towers that would be spared from closing due to national security concerns, and Kingsley’s tower was one of them, states the release. “For once, common sense prevailed,” said Walden. (Kingsley Field report by TSgt. Jefferson Thompson)
F-35 Deliveries Soared to New Record in 2025
Jan. 8, 2026
Lockheed Martin says it delivered 191 F-35 fighters in 2025—just ahead of the goal it set for itself at the beginning of the year as it works to clear a backlog of jets in storage.
