USAF med stor utbygging ved Eielson AFB i Alaska . The War Zone

The arrival of the first pair of Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning IIs at Eielson Air Force Base on Apr. 21, 2020, was significant on many levels. This remote installation is located 26 miles southeast of Fairbanks in the interior of Alaska and about 110 miles south of the Arctic Circle. The installation has received huge funding over the past three years to create a massive secure enclave for its new stealthy inhabitants. While the sheer amount of work that has been conducted at Eielson to bring the F-35 into the arsenal of the Pacific Air Forces is highly evident, the strategic impact on an increasingly important region that the rejuvenated fighter wing will have cannot be understated. 

The resident 354th Fighter Wing hasn’t been combat-coded since 2007 when its A-10 Thunderbolt IIs were redistributed to other units. Since then, Eielson has operated a squadron of aggressor F-16s, which provide support for the resident Red Flag Alaska exercise and for the F-22 Raptors based at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, near Anchorage. Eielson also supports the 168th Air Refueling Group, part of the Alaska Air National Guard, which operates KC-135Rs in support of Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) operations. 

24 F-22 RAPTORS DO THE "ELEPHANT WALK" IN ALASKA TO TOUT THEIR READINESS TO FIGHT (UPDATED) By Tyler RogowayPosted in THE WAR ZONE

ALASKAN AGGRESSOR F-16 EMERGES IN AWESOME NEW FOREST GREEN "SPLINTER" CAMOUFLAGEBy Tyler RogowayPosted in THE WAR ZONE

HOW THE F-35 TRIGGERED TOPGUN'S BIGGEST SYLLABUS REVAMP IN NEARLY FOUR DECADESBy Jamie HunterPosted in THE WAR ZONE

F-15C EAGLE'S NEW INFRARED SEARCH AND TRACK POD SPOTTED AT HUGE EXERCISE IN ALASKABy Joseph Trevithick and Tyler RogowayPosted in THE WAR ZONE

U.S. TRAINING FOR ARCTIC NUCLEAR SATELLITE DISASTER AMID RUSSIAN WEAPONS DEVELOPMENTSBy Joseph TrevithickPosted in THE WAR ZONE

Eielson will be home to the U.S. Air Force’s second operational active-duty F-35 wing, the first being the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base in Utah. This emphasizes the strategic importance of Alaska. The 354th will be home to a pair of Lightning squadrons that will operate 54 of the Low observable (LO) stealth fighters by the time deliveries to the base are complete. This target was initially scheduled for December 2021, but is now set for early 2022.