Ebbing Air Base receives funding
$75.5M designated for projects supporting sales program
FORT SMITH — The Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies legislation, which includes money for three Ebbing Air National Guard Base projects, passed out of the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday.
The bill would send $75.5 million for Ebbing construction projects, including building a secure facility, aircrew flight equipment building and a three-bay clear span hangar for the Foreign Military Sales program.
Ebbing needs a more secure facility to keep F-35s because the plane is the most advanced fighter aircraft in the U.S. inventory, said a spokesman for 3rd District U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers. Likewise, the flight equipment facility and a three-bay hangar for more extensive repairs and overhauls require more extensive security than facilities at the base have now, the spokesman said.
Womack and Arkansas’ two U.S. senators, along with other members of the state’s House delegation, are working together to get the needed improvements, the spokesman said.
The three-bay repair hangar alone will cost $53.6 million, according to figures provided by Womack’s office. The secured area for storing the aircraft will cost $12.7 million and the aircrew flight equipment building will take up the remaining $9.3 million, according to those figures.
A news release from Womack explained the bill exceeds the Department of Defense’s military construction budget and provides key defense priorities, full funding for veterans’ health and robust investments in the Pacific region.
The bill comes three months after Fort Smith’s Ebbing was selected for the Foreign Military Sales program.
Foreign Military Sales is a security assistance program authorized by the Arms Export Control Act. The act allows the U.S. to sell defense equipment, conduct training and provide services to a foreign country when the president deems doing so will strengthen U.S. national security and promote world peace.
Ebbing at Fort Smith Regional Airport was selected in 2021 as the preferred location for a pilot training center for Singapore and other countries participating in the program. The proposal was to accommodate up to 24 foreign F-35 aircraft and move 12 F-16s from the Singapore air force, currently with the 425th Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona.
Lt. Col. Drew “Gus” Nash, who is in charge of getting the Fort Smith base training center at Ebbing Air National Guard Base operational, said the earliest foreign planes and pilots would arrive at Ebbing is 2024, and he expects Polish pilots to arrive first. Poland is purchasing 32 F-35 Lightning II aircraft from Lockheed Martin. The total estimated cost of the planes is $4.6 billion.
Mayor George McGill has said Ebbing’s selection for the program could mean an annual economic impact of $800 million to $1 billion for the River Valley.
“We’re very pleased and excited about the work that’s being done by Congressman Womack as it relates to the Foreign Military Sales mission,” McGill said Tuesday. “That funding is coming to Ebbing, and that’s another sign of the commitment about Ebbing being the home of the Foreign Military Sales, so we’re very excited about that.”
The mission is expected to bring 900 military members and their families to the River Valley area.
“Arkansas’ Third has a long history of supporting our defenders, and this year’s Military Construction and Veterans Affairs bill continues this legacy,” Womack said. “It secures critical funding for Ebbing Air National Guard Base construction in support of the critical FMS mission that will soon bring the sound of freedom to Fort Smith. We also salute our nation’s veterans by fully funding their care and benefits in this bill. Bolstering our national security capabilities in the district and across the country remains a top priority of mine in Congress.”