Air National Guard addresses residents’ questions about fighters being considered for Barnes-Westfield Regional Airport

F-35A Lightning II aircraft receive fuel from a KC-10 Extender tanker aircraft from Travis Air Force Base, Calif., during a flight from England to the United States. The F-35 is being considered by the Pentagon for locaiton at the Air National Guard's 104th Fighter Wing at Barnes-Westfield Regional Airport. (US AIR FORCE PHOTO)
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WESTFIELD — Neighbors Marilyn Wardner, of Juniper Avenue, and Michael P. Ripa, of Springdale Street, live just a few hundred yards from the runways at Barnes-Westfield Regional Airport.

Both are veterans. Wardner spent 20 years in the Air Force, while Ripa is an Army veteran of Vietnam.

Both worry that if the airport and its Air National Guard 104th Fighter Wing get new fighter jets — the 104th is competing for either the F-35A Lightning II or F-15EX aircraft to replace its aging fleet of F-15C jets — the noise that’s already bad in their already insulated homes will get even worse.

Marilyn Wardner of Juniper Avenue in Westfield lives a few hundred yards from the Barnes Air National Guard Base runways and worries about noise from new fighter jets. (JIM KINNEY / THE REPUBLICAN)

“We understand the mission. We understand how important this is. We understand freedom,” Wardner said. “We should also be able to live.”

Ripa said the noise from the existing F-15Cs has increased lately. “It’s noise, it’s vibration,” he said. “It’s the windows in my house. It’s the foundation. It’s the noise.”

They shared their concerns at a community meeting Thursday at which the Air Guard explained and sought public input on the environmental impact of the fight-jet location proposal.

Michael P. Ripa, of Springdale Street, Westfield, lives a few hundred yards from the runway at Barnes-Westfield Regional Airport, and is concerned about noise from the jets flown by the Air National Guard 104th Fighter Wing. (JIM KINNEY / The REPUBLICAN)

Last summer, the Pentagon included the 104th Fighter Wing on a short list of candidates for new aircraft to replace its aging F-15C fleet. The possibilities are F-15EX planes, updated from the F-15C, or the latest F-35As.

The National Guard Bureau and the Air Force propose locating one squadron of F-15EX aircraft at two of three locations including Westfield and one squadron of F-35A aircraft at one of four alternative locations, including Westfield. A decision from the Pentagon is expected in the coming weeks.

Westfield’s competition for the F-35 includes Fresno Air National Guard Base in California, NAS Joint Reserve Base in New Orleans, Naval Air Station Lemoore in California. Westfield is competing with New Orleans and Fresno for the F-15EX.

Thursday’s gathering drew more than 100 people to the cafeteria at Westfield Intermediate School just down Southampton Road from the base. It was in an open-house format with neighbors able to ask questions of Air Force and airport officials.

There is a virtual meeting set for Aug. 24 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. The links and background information are available at a website established by the Air Force and the National Guard Bureau: angf15ex-f35a-eis.com/proposed-action/.

In June U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield and chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey, Gov. Charlie Baker and others pitched Westfield as a welcoming community to Pentagon leadership, including the Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall. Kendall, a native of the Berkshire County town of Richmond, graduated from high school in Pittsfield. Warren sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Their pitch is that Westfield is a welcoming community, eager to see the newest planes located here at the base which co-exists with the civilian Barnes-Westfield Regional Airport. Updating the fleet could help ensure the Air Guard base will remain in the city for several more decades, Guard officials have said.

“Noise is really the issue,” said Westfield Mayor Michael A. McCabe. “I just really want to maintain the base here. It’s such a benefit to the community and to the aviation industry.”

McCabe said he’d prefer to get the F-35s because even the newest F-15s are nearing the end of their careers. The F-35 would guarantee a military presence at Barnes for 40 years, he estimated.

Col. Andrew Jacob, commander of the 104th Operations Group, said the Guard recognizes noise is a concern and the base works to adjust things like flight plans and timing to keep it to a minimum. The F-35, he said, is louder if the pilot uses the afterburner.

Use of afterburners, though, is rare because the state-of-the-art F-35 doesn’t need the added power of an afterburner to take off, Jacob explained. In addition, its weapons systems are held internally, making it quieter.

McCabe said he’s already been in contact with folks in and around Burlington, Vermont. The Vermont Air National Guard there received the F-35s in 2019.

Michael H. Gutowski is a member of the municipal Airport Commission and also president of Western Massachusetts Wright Flight which works to introduce young people to aviation. He said he believes the city needs to fight for the new planes.

“People need to think about the economic impact of a 1,000-member Air National Guard base there with 21 aircraft,” he said. “That’s important to the region.”

Barnes, both a civilian and military installation, has a total annual economic impact of $236.8 million, according to the airport authority. The total number of jobs, civilian and military, tops 2,100.

The 104th unit and its F-15C Eagles are part of the Air Combat Command with a mission that includes providing homeland security and defense for the northeast U.S. Its pilots and jets have a 24/7 alert mission.

The older F-15Cs will be retired from service.

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