Air Force Approves Kingsley Field In Oregon As Third F-35 Training Base, With 26 Jets Planned

Air Force Secretary Troy Meink signed the record of decision on Oct. 5 to base F-35 Lightning II fighters at Kingsley Field, Ore., Air & Space Forces Magazine reported. The decision clears the last bureaucratic hurdle for the Air National Guard base to host the Air Force's third F-35 formal training unit.

It ends a process lasting years to replace the base's F-15C and D fighters. The first batch of aircraft are expected to arrive in summer of the next year, but the 173rd Fighter Wing's release said the whole transition will take "multiple years." A recent environmental impact analysis report states that the last fighter jet of the 5th generation should arrive in 2029.

The record of decision is required before construction can begin on the new and existing facilities needed to accommodate the aircraft. The Department of the Air Force issued its final environmental report in September 2026, after a lengthy analysis process.

The plan has changed over time. In 2020, the Air Force announced it would put an F-15EX Eagle II schoolhouse at Kingsley, which had long hosted F-15C/D training. The Air Force was also scaling back its F-15EX procurement plan at that point. In May 2023, it announced the F-35 schoolhouse would go to Kingsley instead.