Advertisement

Eielson Air Base to receive F-35 weather shelter

By James LaPorta
U.S. Air Force Col. Paul D. Moga, 33rd Fighter Wing commander, and Airmen from the 33rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron clean an F-35A Lightning II at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Photo by Staff Sgt. Peter Thompson/U.S. Air Force.
U.S. Air Force Col. Paul D. Moga, 33rd Fighter Wing commander, and Airmen from the 33rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron clean an F-35A Lightning II at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Photo by Staff Sgt. Peter Thompson/U.S. Air Force.

Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Watterson Construction has been awarded a contract to design and construct an F-35A aircraft weather shelter at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska.

The deal, announced Thursday by the Department of Defense, is valued at more than $58 million under a firm-fixed-price contract.

Advertisement

The Lockheed Martin F-35A Lighting II is a fifth-generation fighter jet with conventional takeoff and landing variants that is equipped with advanced onboard sensors designed to gather and distribute more battlefield information than previous-generation fighters.

The Pentagon has begun the process of equipping F-35s with the small diameter bomb which is preferred over the bulky 2,000-pound Mark-84 general purpose bomb because it would allow the Lighting II to carry up to four small diameter bombs versus one Mark-84.

Work on the contract will occur at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, according to the Defense Department press release, and is expected to be completed in November 2019.

The total financial value of the contract will be obligated to Watterson Construction at the time of award from fiscal 2017 military construction funds.

Latest Headlines