The first jet of an international training program landed at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith yesterday. Ozarks at Large’s Jack Travis was on the runway and offers this report.
That’s an F-35A Lightning II fighter jet. It’s cruising with a partner around the skies of the River Valley in a show to the media and select community members at Ebbing Air National Guard Base.
These jets and their pilots are part of the Finnish Air Force, and their arrival in Fort Smith marks a milestone in international relations. Roughly 20 Finnish pilots and maintenance personnel will begin participating in the Foreign Military Sales pilot training program in May.
The 57th Fighter Squadron will guide the Finnish students through this comprehensive program. They're the U.S. Air Force’s unit dedicated to training foreign military sales partners on the F-35 at Ebbing.
The training will take place across the country, with pilots completing academics and simulator training at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida before conducting live flight training over Fort Smith. In addition to pilot training, Finnish maintenance personnel will learn how to care for the aircraft from interim contract support maintainers at Ebbing.
“Basically, we build their first initial cadre and when they go back to Finland, then they can self-support and start upgrading their own people and producing their own F-35 pilots when they go back home.”
That’s Col. Nicholas Ihde. He’s the commander of the 85th Fighter Group. Last year, his unit began training Polish fighter pilots on F-35s. And now he says it’s Finland’s turn.
“So by the summer, we’ll have all eight Finnish F-35s here and we’ll have 16 total, with Poland and Finland as the two countries in full-up training here in the FMS pilot training center. After two or three years of stand up and bed down, we are to a two-country pace and rolling.
"You’ve seen jets for the past year on a two-ship in the morning and a two-ship in the afternoon. And that’s going to increase slightly through the time frame. Now that we have 16 aircraft and we have multiple classes going at the same time.”
He says Poland was naturally the guinea pig for the program, and now they’ve worked out some points for potential difficulties.
“We learned a lot, and I would say we learned a lot on the airport side and through air traffic control with Razorback Range and approach and departure. And then the tower is where I would say we’ve learned the most. Getting people back up to speed after 12 years without having fighter aircraft roaming around. It’s a little bit different than your three American Airlines flights that come in a day and the civil aircraft that fly. So getting four to six to eight aircraft airborne a day and having them in the pattern at the same time is where we’re learning the most, so that people become more attuned to the speed that we’re going and the pattern and stuff and the training that’s happening.
“So that’s what I would say. We’re improving on what we’ve got. We’ll learn stuff with Finland as well. And as we step into Germany as the next country, we’ll take the lessons from Poland and Finland and keep rolling along so that we make this the most established training base that we can here in Fort Smith.”
With so many fifth-generation fighter jets flying around the River Valley — two in the morning, two in the afternoon — the noise is probably impossible to ignore. Col. Ihde says that folks around the base call it the sound of freedom.
“I would say international freedom is a great one, I would say, and I’ve heard this a bunch here for Fort Smith and talking to groups. But Fort Smith is the precipice of global security right now. I mean, if you think about it, multiple countries within the European theater and Pacific theater are going to be here, learn and fly F-35s and learning how to interact and integrate with U.S. F-35 tactics to take back to their home countries. That, to me, just looks like global security overall. And to have it in Fort Smith in the River Valley and Northwest Arkansas is just a great thing to have.”
Finnish Air Force personnel were on the base Tuesday. Col. Tuukka Elonheimo of the Finnish Air Force says that years of work went into this program. However, that preparation was well worth it as it increased international security through diplomatic and military partnerships.
“It means a lot for not only for Finnish Air Force, but the whole Finnish Defense Forces and the security and safety of our country. Of course, in today’s very volatile security environment, we have to increase our deterrence and defense capability. And we’ve been operating with F-18 Hornets for 30 years. And it’s time now to step up to another level, and this amazing state-of-the-art F-35 will bring the new capabilities we definitely need.
“And what is more important, of course, is the international cooperation with other partners and allies, and integration and interoperability with each other is highly, highly important. Stronger together.”
Col. Ihde says this training program may inspire the next generation of airmen and women, too. These jets are highly visible when they conduct live flight training, allowing Fort Smith residents a front-row seat.
“You have kids at Southside that we fly over every day that are able to look up and see those aircraft and the goodness of that. And why people should be excited is that people either want to become a pilot. People have a better understanding that they may want to go into the military someday. They have a better appreciation for the military. Or they do understand at a high level that these are foreign countries training here and have a better appreciation for the cultures that are here, training and that protect us abroad in helping the United States interests at large.
“That’s why I would say it’s such a vital thing. And why this, I think the town does a great job of supporting it. But that is a very regular thing to see of the young folks around Northwest Arkansas able to see fighter aircraft and fighter air power airborne and kind of inspire them.”
What’s more, the international pilots and mechanics have received a warm welcome in the River Valley. This is Col. Elonheimo’s fourth trip to Arkansas, and he says he’s been impressed.
“All the locals and regional partners are doing in favor that we will feel very warmly welcomed here. So all the housing, accommodations, cars and settling in 6,000 miles away from their original home will be way, way much easier. And that’s what we appreciate.”
Col. Ihde says that multiple industries have stepped up to ease the transition for visiting pilots’ families.
“The town has been super supportive in building housing areas for these countries that want to maybe pod together and build and rent within Fort Smith. The additional ones is Mercy and Baptist have come together as the health care systems within here to support these countries and their families. And then finally, the school systems within Fort Smith have been fantastic.”
The training program is scheduled to kick off in May. You can visit the Air Education and Training Command’s website for more information about the Foreign Military Sales training program.
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