Air Force Finalizes Decision to Put F-35s at Oregon Base Starting in 2027

More than two dozen F-35 Lightning II fighters are officially heading to Kingsley Field, Ore., after Air Force Secretary Troy Meink signed the record of decision to base the jets there on Oct. 5, clearing the last bureaucratic hurdle for the Air National Guard base to host the service’s third F-35 formal training unit.

The 173rd Fighter Wing at Kingsley and Rep. Cliff Bentz (R-Ore.) announced the milestone in separate releases, capping a yearslong process to replace the base’s legacy F-15C and D fighters.

The very first aircraft are expected to arrive in summer 2027, but the entire transition will take “multiple years,” according to the 173rd Fighter Wing’s release. A recent environmental impact analysis report states that the final aircraft are expected to arrive in 2029.

Back in 2020, the Air Force announced plans to put an F-15EX Eagle II schoolhouse at Kingsley, which had long hosted F-15C/D training.

But within a few years, the service reconsidered that move, with officials citing the growing strategic focus on the Indo-Pacific and the need to field fifth-generation aircraft “as quickly as possible.” The Air Force was also scaling back its procurement plan for the F-15EX at the time.

In May 2023, the USAF announced its new plan to put an F-35 schoolhouse at Kingsley instead of an F-15EX one.

A lengthy environmental impact analysis process followed, and the Department of the Air Force issued its final report last month, clearing the way for the record of decision. The record is required to begin construction of new and existing facilities needed to accommodate the aircraft.

Originally, the 173rd said it expected to receive 20 F-35s with the switch and keep the same number of personnel. The environmental impact analysis report, however, states that Kingsley will receive 26 aircraft and add about 30 personnel.

This will be the third F-35 formal training unit in the Air Force—schoolhouses already exist at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., and Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. As the service’s F-35 fleet grows, officials say they need to expand the training pipeline. FTUs are typically the last stop for a pilot to receive airframe-specific training before they move on to an operational unit.

“We are not simply receiving a new aircraft; we are taking on a mission that directly affects the Air Force’s ability to put combat-ready F-35 pilots into operational units,” Col. Adam Gaudinski, 173rd Fighter Wing commander, said in a statement. “Every pilot we graduate from Kingsley represents combat capability that can be delivered to an operational squadron. That is the responsibility we are accepting, and we are ready for it.”

Kingsley Field will be the 16th Air Force base to hose the F-35—Barnes Air National Guard Base, Mass., and Misawa Air Base, Japan, both welcomed their first F-35s in 2026.

Elsewhere in Oregon, the 142nd Wing at Portland Air National Guard Base has started receiving the F-15EX.

F-35 Locations

Future locations in italic bold