Work begins on F-35 academic training center at Ebbing Air National Guard Base

Brig. Gen. George Walter issued a challenge during Wednesday’s (May 6) ceremonial ground breaking for an academic training center at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith. The construction is estimated to take two years. He wants it finished in 18 months.

Walter commands the Dallas-based U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Southwestern Division, which manages design and construction of new facilities at Ebbing.

U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark.; U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers; Fort Smith Mayor George McGill; and Lt. Gen. Clark Quinn, commander of the Air Education and Training Command at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas, were a few of the officials and officers also gathered on a chilly Wednesday morning at Ebbing.

The sound of construction equipment and taxiing fighter jets at times muted the speakers’ messages, but Walter’s charge — “Let’s do it in 18 months.” — to build the unique training center in a tight space on the crowded Ebbing campus rang loud.

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

The base also will house and provide training support for Republic of Singapore F-16s. Singapore’s F-35 fighter jets are expected to arrive at Ebbing in late 2026, with the country’s F-16 fighters set to arrive in the summer of 2027, according to the latest USAF information. Up to 400 personnel are to be stationed in Fort Smith when all Singapore planes arrive.

The Air Force recently completed a final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) as part of the process to expand the base to add an additional 12 F-35s for a total of 36 F-35 and 12 F-16 aircraft at Ebbing. The 85th Fighter Group, which leads the foreign pilot training center, is a partner at the base, making Ebbing the first Air National Guard installation to host a permanent active-duty mission of this kind, according to the 188th.

The Air Force has estimated the cost to complete the larger training center base is $807 million. An initial estimate, provided by federal and state officials, ranged between $850 million and more than $1.2 billion. About $600 million in federal funds has been appropriated since 2021 for the pilot training center.

Womack praised Boozman for his leadership in obtaining the federal dollars needed to convert parts of Ebbing into the foreign pilot training center. Boozman praised those who are helping it become a reality.

“Seeing the (F-35) flyover, seeing the buildings pop up, it really is remarkable,” Boozman said.

The academic center will be 44,000 square feet and will cost around $74 million, according to Erin Cumbo, Ebbing program manager in the USACE Little Rock office. Col. Jonathan Esparza, 188th Wing commander, said the center will house classrooms and four F-35 simulators that will provide extensive and sometimes “classified environments” for pilot training.

“We share that with our closest allies because the threat is real,” Esparza said.

Quinn said establishing the pilot training center at Ebbing has been “incredibly complex,” and in the initial days after Ebbing was selected for the F-35 pilot training center, the planners “needed to have a lot of imagination to see the future.” He said the Fort Smith community “has been outstanding in support of our airmen.”

The 188th has 1,018 military members, active and guard, and civilians supporting the mission, according to its website. The 188th is an unmanned aerial unit with three missions: remotely piloted aircraft (MQ-9 Reaper), intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, and targeting (space-focused). Prior to the ongoing mission, the Ebbing-based 188th was home to various manned aircraft, including the F-4 Phantom, F-16 Falcon, and the A-10 Thunderbolt.