New Mexico senators say Pentagon will send two squadrons.

 

The Pentagon has expressed its intent to send two squadrons of the Air Force's fighter of the future -- the F-22A Raptor -- to Holloman Air Force Base beginning in late 2008, according to a joint news release from Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., and Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M.

Holloman's fleet of F-117A stealth fighters is targeted for retirement beginning in the fiscal year 2008, and it is possible the new Raptors could begin to come on line at the southern New Mexico base close to the time the Nighthawks are phased out, the news release said.

The plan is still subject to an environmental impact statement, and the increased efficiency and reduced need for maintenance "will likely result in fewer personnel stationed at Holloman," the senators said in the release.

But both Domenici and Bingaman, who are meeting this week with the Alamogordo Committee of 50, pledged to work with community leaders to find other missions to augment that of the Raptor squadrons, according to the release.

Holloman employs roughly 6,300 military and civilian personnel with combined payrolls at the base of about $266 million a year.

The Raptor, which costs up to $330 million to build, is a state-of-the-art supersonic fighter with stealth capabilities and maneuverability that the $45 million Nighthawk lacks, according to earlier stories (here and here) by the Albuquerque Journal.

So far, according to the senators' release, 19 of the new aircraft have been delivered and production is expected to average about 20 a year.

Each squadron will likely include 18 F-22As, the release said.

According to the release, Holloman would be the third base to receive the new aircraft, with squadrons being sent first to Langley Air Force Base in Virginia and Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska.

Watch for further reports by the Journal Washington Bureau's Michael Coleman.

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