BOISE -- It looks like the military's new F-35 fighter jets won't be coming to southwest Idaho.
Idaho's congressional delegation said that Mountain Home Air Force Base and Boise's Gowen Field are out of the running in the first round to be the bases of operation and training for the new F-35 Joint Striker Jet.
The two bases did not make the initial list of recommedations from the Air Force's review panel. The construction costs are a factor.
The military might want to have the option of housing three squadrons at once, so it would have to build in Idaho to accommodate that.
Sen. Mike Crapo was disappointed when he received the call from the Air Force this morning and is going over the materials it sent.
In a statement he said, "I have felt all along that Idaho's facilities and training range put us at the top of the list."
We're told this does not mean Mountain Home and Gowen Field are scratched from the final list, but they are not the top preference.
“We’re disappointed, but by no means are we defeated,” Gov. Butch Otter said in a statement. “It’s a long process for deploying an aircraft that will be in use for decades to come, and this is just round one. We’ll have more opportunities to get squadrons of F-35s based here in Idaho, with the careers and economic opportunity they will bring with them. We will use the coming months to keep making our case to the Air Force, loud and clear and united, that Mountain Home Air Force Base and Gowen Field are the best places in the country to locate this next generation of weapons systems, for training, operations, and possibly even foreign sales.”
366th Fighter Wing Commander Col. Ron Buckley says the Air Force is considering buying 1,700 F-35s in the years ahead.
This first round decision, involves about 250 to 300 planes.
And the Air Force will go through the selection process every two to three years.
"I think there's a very good chance that F-35s will one day be at Mountain Home AFB," said Buckley.
Bases in Utah, Vermont and Arizona won a first installment of the single-engine jets, whose costs now run $113 million per plane.
Operational missions would go to Hill Air Force Base in Utah and the Burlington Air Guard Station in Vermont; for training, the Air Force is recommending Luke Air Force Base in Arizona.
The Air Force also announced Wednesday that 59 F-35 jets would be stationed at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
Gowen is one of two finalists for the C-27J Spartan cargo plane. The other is Great Falls, Mont.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
