Virginia Congressional Representative Urges F-35 Assignment to East Coast
5-9-2025
By John Chuhran
By John Chuhran
New York, N.Y. – Have you ever seen a flying example of the F-35 – the state-of-the-art Joint Strike Fighter plane that lies at the heart of the United States air defense system ?
If you live along the most densely populated area of the United States, the I-95 corridor from Washington, D.C. to Boston, the answer is probably “no.” However, one member of the U.S. Congress is trying to make the sight of an airborne F-35 a much more common occurrence in the Northeast.
Representative Jen Kiggans of Virginia, a former Navy pilot, recently wrote an Op-Ed for Stars & Stripes advocating the use of the F-35 as the principal fighter aircraft at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Va. Currently, the Navy uses the aging FA-18 at NAS Oceana, which employs approximately 80,000 active-duty military personnel at one of the largest bases in the nation.
“The Navy’s ability to project air power in a contested environment depends on more than the capabilities of its aircraft," Kiggans wrote. “It depends on where those aircraft are based. Right now, every operational Navy F-35C squadron is stationed on the West Coast. That needs to change.”
The F-35 Lightning II, built by Lockheed-Martin with support from Northrup-Grumman and BAE Systems, was selected by the Defense Department as the winner of the design competition for America’s fifth-generation Joint Strike fighter in 2001. The plane is built in three variations – the F-35A (used primarily by the U.S. Air Force and introduced in August 2016) is a conventional fighter aircraft built for take off and landing on ground airfields, the F-35B (used primarily by the Marines and introduced in July 2015) is a version built with vertical take-off and landing capabilities, while the F-35C (used by the Navy and introduced in February 2019) is a version built with specially strengthened airframes and components to enable the plane to take off using the steam catapults and land with the traditional hook-and-cable systems on American aircraft carriers.
Currently, the U.S. Military has about 630 examples of the F-35 in service with the intention to eventually add another 1,816 by 2044. The aircraft is also available to be purchased by NATO allies and other approved countries; about a total of more than 1,150 planes are currently in use.
Since its first test flights in 2006, the F-35 has evolved and continues to change as new components (especially ever improving software for the sophisticated computer systems that control virtually all activity selected by the pilot) are introduced. While the evolution of these features was touted as the key to keeping the F-35 viable as a front-line attack aircraft for decades, the software modifications are so complicated that they often take months to fully de-bug – a process that can be very expensive.
Indeed, critics of the F-35 have often cited the unprecedented size, complexity, ballooning costs, and delayed deliveries of the aircraft. Part of those problems came from the U.S. Department of Defense decision to schedule production while the F-35 was still in the development and testing stage, which resulted in expensive design changes and retrofits. Problems with its Technology Refresh 3 software upgrades led to a delivery halt in July 2023 that lasted nearly a year, and newly-built jets piled up at Lockheed’s factory in Fort Worth, Texas.
If you live along the most densely populated area of the United States, the I-95 corridor from Washington, D.C. to Boston, the answer is probably “no.” However, one member of the U.S. Congress is trying to make the sight of an airborne F-35 a much more common occurrence in the Northeast.
Representative Jen Kiggans of Virginia, a former Navy pilot, recently wrote an Op-Ed for Stars & Stripes advocating the use of the F-35 as the principal fighter aircraft at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Va. Currently, the Navy uses the aging FA-18 at NAS Oceana, which employs approximately 80,000 active-duty military personnel at one of the largest bases in the nation.
“The Navy’s ability to project air power in a contested environment depends on more than the capabilities of its aircraft," Kiggans wrote. “It depends on where those aircraft are based. Right now, every operational Navy F-35C squadron is stationed on the West Coast. That needs to change.”
The F-35 Lightning II, built by Lockheed-Martin with support from Northrup-Grumman and BAE Systems, was selected by the Defense Department as the winner of the design competition for America’s fifth-generation Joint Strike fighter in 2001. The plane is built in three variations – the F-35A (used primarily by the U.S. Air Force and introduced in August 2016) is a conventional fighter aircraft built for take off and landing on ground airfields, the F-35B (used primarily by the Marines and introduced in July 2015) is a version built with vertical take-off and landing capabilities, while the F-35C (used by the Navy and introduced in February 2019) is a version built with specially strengthened airframes and components to enable the plane to take off using the steam catapults and land with the traditional hook-and-cable systems on American aircraft carriers.
Currently, the U.S. Military has about 630 examples of the F-35 in service with the intention to eventually add another 1,816 by 2044. The aircraft is also available to be purchased by NATO allies and other approved countries; about a total of more than 1,150 planes are currently in use.
Since its first test flights in 2006, the F-35 has evolved and continues to change as new components (especially ever improving software for the sophisticated computer systems that control virtually all activity selected by the pilot) are introduced. While the evolution of these features was touted as the key to keeping the F-35 viable as a front-line attack aircraft for decades, the software modifications are so complicated that they often take months to fully de-bug – a process that can be very expensive.
Indeed, critics of the F-35 have often cited the unprecedented size, complexity, ballooning costs, and delayed deliveries of the aircraft. Part of those problems came from the U.S. Department of Defense decision to schedule production while the F-35 was still in the development and testing stage, which resulted in expensive design changes and retrofits. Problems with its Technology Refresh 3 software upgrades led to a delivery halt in July 2023 that lasted nearly a year, and newly-built jets piled up at Lockheed’s factory in Fort Worth, Texas.
There were problems with the TR-3 upgrades — including improved displays, computer memory and processing power — and those have delayed work on a more expansive set of upgrades known as Block 4, which would include the ability to carry more weapons and better electronic warfare capabilities.
The newest F-35s are now being delivered second half of 2025. The military is now withholding about $5 million per jet in payments to Lockheed until the new F-35s are combat-capable. As of July 2024, the cost of production and production tooling was $82.5 million for the F-35A, $109 million for the F-35B, and $102.1 million for the F-35C.
The 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) included provisions to add 68 F-35s, including 13 of the F-35C configuration.
With that in mind, Rep. Kiggans made her recommendations known to the public in the Stars & Stripes article, explaining “the Navy must be prepared to launch cutting-edge airpower from both coasts. A single Navy F-35 hub in California is, quite frankly, insufficient. Establishing East Coast basing for the F-35 isn’t just a matter of convenience – it’s a matter of resilience and deterrence. A bicoastal force structure ensures that carrier air wings can be deployed globally, regardless of events at home like natural disasters, targeted strikes, or cyber attacks. It also enables faster deployment to the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the Arctic, and the Middle East – regions where naval aviation presence is essential.”
According to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), the production of the F-35 supports more than 254,000 direct and indirect jobs across the United States spread among more than 1,800 suppliers. The F-35 supply chain generates an annual economic impact exceeding $49 billion.
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The 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) included provisions to add 68 F-35s, including 13 of the F-35C configuration.
With that in mind, Rep. Kiggans made her recommendations known to the public in the Stars & Stripes article, explaining “the Navy must be prepared to launch cutting-edge airpower from both coasts. A single Navy F-35 hub in California is, quite frankly, insufficient. Establishing East Coast basing for the F-35 isn’t just a matter of convenience – it’s a matter of resilience and deterrence. A bicoastal force structure ensures that carrier air wings can be deployed globally, regardless of events at home like natural disasters, targeted strikes, or cyber attacks. It also enables faster deployment to the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the Arctic, and the Middle East – regions where naval aviation presence is essential.”
According to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), the production of the F-35 supports more than 254,000 direct and indirect jobs across the United States spread among more than 1,800 suppliers. The F-35 supply chain generates an annual economic impact exceeding $49 billion.
cammvetsmediallc ©