As Tyndall tries to rebound, A-10 fight prompts F-35 maintainer shortfall, ‘significant risk’
F-35 squads at Hill AFB, Utah, Eielson AFB, Alaska, Luke AFB, Ariz., and Eglin AFB, Fla. could all face risks due to a maintainer shortage at Tyndall.
By VALERIE INSINNA
on June 14, 2022 at 5:55 AM
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla.: After Hurricane Michael devastated Tyndall Air Force Base in 2018, the installation was given a lifeline when the service announced plans to base three F-35 Joint Strike Fighter squadrons there.
But as construction ramps up and the base begins to visibly bounce bank, an old political scuffle thousands of miles away is threatening Tyndall’s F-35 timeline and forcing the Air Force to scramble to find maintainers for the world’s most advanced fighter — including through options that would hinder F-35 operations at other bases, a senior Air Force official tells Breaking Defense.
While the Air Force originally intended to source maintainers for Tyndall’s F-35s from the A-10 squadrons headed for the boneyard, Arizona lawmakers fought tooth and nail to preserve the Warthog inventory, preventing the Air Force from being able to divest 42 A-10s in fiscal 2022, 35 of which were slated to come from Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.
https://breakingdefense.com/2022/06/as-tyndall-tries-to-rebound-a-10-fight-prompts-f-35-maintainer-shortfall-significant-risk/
