Two Jax military bases in the running for new aircraft

Two Jacksonville military installations could be getting a big boost.

The Navy is considering making Naval Station Mayport the East Coast home base for the MQ-4C Triton Unmanned Aerial System. Right now, Mayport is being considered along with Naval Air Station Key West and National Aeronautics and Space Administration Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

“A number of operational and fiscal and other factors in making the decision- as to which of these installations best meet the needs for the Navy,” says US Fleet Forces Command Environmental Public Affairs Officer Ted Brown.

The Triton is an unmanned, unarmed, remotely controlled aircraft used for surveillance, reconnaissance, and intelligence missions. Most operations happen over international waters at least 12 miles offshore, according to the Navy.

Home basing the Triton comes with a launch and recovery site for four of the aircraft, a maintenance hub for four other aircraft, a permanent duty station for about 400 people, and rotational deployments for more. Construction would start in FY17, with assets made available by FY20 and full operations underway by FY22-23.

An Environmental Assessment is now underway. The draft report will be available for public review in June, and the Navy will make a decision from there. Training for the Triton is already provided at Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

The Florida Air National Guard is also in the running for some new technology- the US Air Force F-35A Joint Strike Fighter Lightning II aircraft.

The 125^th Fighter Wing of the Florida Air National Guard based at JIA is being considered for the aircraft, which would replace the F-15 Eagle in the future.

“Entering a new airplane in to the inventory in Jacksonville would be a tremendous insurance policy,” says Florida Air National Guard Commander Brigadier General Jim Eifert.

Eifert tells WOKV that while their current aircraft are projected to last through 2040, they’re doing fatigue testing now to see if that service life will hold.

“There have been times where we’ve been surprised by airplanes in our inventory that ended up developing problems that were unexpected,” Eifert says.

The Florida Air National Guard has actually been in a similar position before. In 2010, Eifert says they were competing with two other units for the very first wave of F-35s. Now, there are a total of 18 units vying for two available wings, but Eifert says they’re confident.

“Make sure that those jobs and that mission will continue in Jacksonville for a long time to come,” he says.

The Florida Air National Guard base in Jacksonville is about 1,000 people. The F-35s are expected to have a service life in to the later half of this century. There could be construction that comes with the planes, if Jacksonville is chosen, and the aircraft would be ready in 2022.

It’s unclear when we will see a decision.