Whiteman Air Force Base in west-central Missouri is one step closer to securing a replacement mission for the Missouri Air National Guard’s 442nd Fighter Wing as the Air Force phases out the A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft.
The Air Force has identified Whiteman as the sole candidate location for a new F-15E Strike Eagle mission, a decision Missouri Rep. Mark Alford said is the result of years of work.
“We’ve been working on this for 3 1/2, four years. I think we finally got through and this week the Air Force notified me that they are going to bring the F-15Es to Whiteman Air Force Base, 24 of them eventually,” Alford told Missourinet.
If approved as planned, 24 F-15E Strike Eagles would begin arriving at Whiteman in 2031.
Alford said the announcement helps secure the future of the 442nd Fighter Wing and preserves a fighter mission at the base.
“We were in jeopardy, I think, of losing a large part of the workforce that really supports that platform and possibly moving out of state,” he said.
According to Alford, the new mission would help retain Airmen, civilian employees and military families in west-central Missouri while maintaining jobs tied to the wing’s operations.
The congressman also pointed to the work still ahead before the mission can become a reality, including construction projects needed to support the aircraft.
“And now as the vice chair of the Military Construction Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee, I’m the only member of the Missouri delegation on the Appropriations Committee, I’m going to fight hard to make sure that we have the military construction out at Whiteman Air Force Base. This is not going to be cheap. We’re going to have to build new hangars, but it’s going to be worth it,” Alford said.
The Air Force’s current plan calls for 24 F-15E Strike Eagles to be stationed at Whiteman beginning in 2031, helping maintain the 442nd Fighter Wing’s role in national defense while providing a new mission as the A-10 fleet is retired.
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