F-35 pilot training center cost rises to $1.2 billion, impact up to $1.4 billion

Despite global rumblings about NATO allies and other foreign nations being concerned about using the F-35 fighter, retired Air Force Col. Rob Ator said Tuesday (March 18) the F-35 pilot training center in Fort Smith will have a long and important mission that has the attention of the White House.

Ator, who is now the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in Arkansas, was the military affairs liaison for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission when Ebbing Air National Guard Base at the Fort Smith Regional Airport was selected for the new training center.

Ebbing, home to the 188th Wing in Fort Smith and co-located with the Fort Smith Regional Airport, was selected in March 2023 by the U.S. Air Force to be the long-term pilot training center supporting F-16 and F-35 fighter planes purchased by Singapore, Switzerland, Poland, Germany, Finland, and other countries participating in the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.

The 85th Fighter Group and the 57th Fighter Squadron, both under the Eglin, Fla.-based 33rd Fighter Wing, are based at Ebbing and are responsible for training F-35 pilots.

Ator was joined by Col. Nicholas “Matrix” Ihde, commander of the 85th, at Tuesday’s regular meeting of the Fort Smith Regional Airport Commission. Ator said the new training center, which has yet to be completed, will be part of the region for many years and is of vital importance to the national defense.

“This mission is going to be here for the next 30 to 40 years. What we are building and we invest in now is going to be a dividend to the city, really the river valley and the entire state,” Ator said, adding that early estimates by the Congressional Research Service suggest the center will have an annual economic impact of $1.2 billion to $1.4 billion.

Ator said around $600 million has been appropriated so far, and he has “been given some pretty good assurances” that Congress will continue to provide the funds necessary to build a fully operational pilot training center. He also said world events have given the training center more importance.

“But I’ll also say, Fort Smith is now at the centerpoint of international strategic deterrence worldwide. And so, the things and the decisions that we make here are felt well outside of here. … This stuff gets briefed to the president on where we are at. And so, the timeline is for real,” Ator told the commission.

Ator said there are now four F-35 planes at the center that belong to Poland. Ihde said there will be 16 of the fighters by the end of 2025, with most belonging to Poland. The pilot and plane arrival schedule also includes F-35’s from Singapore arriving in the fall of 2026, and Singapore F-16s roaring in around August 2027. German F-35 planes and pilots are also set to arrive in 2026, according to Ihde.

Ator also said the construction estimate, which was once around $800 million, is now around $1.2 billion. Ihde said the work to create a training center is moving from the “planning phase and easy stuff” to active construction with “a lot of moving parts and pieces.” He said the significant construction is set to begin this summer and will stretch into 2028. He said he wants to meet monthly with the airport commission to push back against those who believe the airport and other local officials are at an “end to provide help.”

“That type of stuff lets me know that no one understands the 2027-2028 timeframe that’s coming. … This doesn’t get smaller. This gets bigger and we need to work together in order to maximize the performance” of the military mission and the commercial airport, Ihde said.

Ator said he may now be at Veterans Affairs, but Gov. Sarah Sanders has told him to stay connected to the process to ensure that military, local, state and federal officials are on the same page.

“Because of world events, timeline is everything, and so, we need to be operating as one block so that we’re are being mutually supportive in what we are doing,” Ator told the commission.