It’s official, fighter jets will return to Fort Smith with pilot training center

By Brett Rains

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    FORT SMITH, Arkansas (KHBS) — Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith has been selected by the U.S. Department of Air Force to be the new home of the Foreign Military Sales Pilot Training Center that will bring F-16 and F-35 fighter jets to the base, according to a statement from the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce that was released Wednesday morning.

This mission will bring approximately 900 military members and their families to the Fort Smith region. It will add approximately 230 personnel to the base.

Fort Smith will be the new home for the 425th Fighter Squadron, a Republic of Singapore F-16 Fighting Falcon training unit that’s currently based at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. The Republic of Singapore will have 300 military personnel with 300 dependent families in the region.

Ebbing Air National Guard Base was selected as the preferred location for the pilot training mission in June 2021.

The Department of Air Force conducted an environmental impact analysis to determine how the training program affect the region. Loud noise from the fighter jets would primarily impact those residents living near the Fort Smith Regional Airport. During a public input session in September 2022, no residents or city officials spoke in opposition to bringing the pilot training program to Fort Smith.

Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders commented on the announcement today during a luncheon in Rogers.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to showcase some of the incredible things here in Arkansas,” she said. “And I look forward to continuing to work on that partnership. Our federal delegation did an amazing job leading that effort, and we’re going to continue to help aid on the state level.”

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