Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      F-35A taxing down runway at Fort Smith airport. Control tower is in the background.An F-35 Lightning II takes off at Ebbing Air National Guard Base, Ark., Oct. 17, 2023. The Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center is leading the construction of facilities at Ebbing ANGB to support U.S. F-35 pilot training mission and establish a new training center for pilots from Singapore and NATO countries under the F-35 Foreign Military Sales program. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Christopher Sherlock)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

AFIMSC leads new ACE, military pilot training mission beddown projectPublished Nov. 20, 2023
                    
                    By Mila Cisneros
                    
                    
                    Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center Public Affairs
            **JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas (AFNS) --**The **Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center** is leading a more than $500 million facilities construction project to facilitate expeditionary skills training and military pilot training at **Ebbing Air National Guard Base**, Arkansas.Lawrence Wong (left), Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, sits in a republic of Singapore F-16 Fighting Falcon Oct. 6, 2023, at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona.Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Lawrence Wong sits in a Republic of Singapore F-16 Fighting Falcon Oct. 6, 2023, at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz. Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center is leading the construction of facilities at Ebbing Air National Guard Base, Ark., to support U.S. F-35 pilot training mission and establish a new location for a Republic of Singapore air force F-16 training unit, currently based at Luke AFB. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Elias Carrero)
            
            
            Photo Details /
                Download Hi-Res

    











In line with the **National Defense Strategy**, focus on collaboration between the U.S. and its allies and partners on shared objectives, the project will establish a permanent **F-35 Lightning II** training center for military pilots from Singapore and **NATO** countries who purchase the weapon systems under the **Foreign Military Sales** program. Ebbing ANGB will become the new location for the 425th Fighter Squadron, a Republic of Singapore air force **F-16 Fighting Falcon** training unit, currently based at **Luke Air Force Base**, Arizona.
“This project will provide additional capacity to allow training for more of our international partners than current facilities allow,” said Col. Adam T. Rice, **Air Education and Training Command** lead for Ebbing Field integration and synchronization. “The mutually beneficial FMS mission increases interoperability and enhances the long-term relationships between the U.S. military and our allies and partners.”
As part of the expansive multi-year effort, Ebbing Field will also host missions intended to enhance U.S. national security by providing additional resources for Air Force **agile combat employment** and large force employment training and exercises, U.S. Air Force F-35 pilot qualification and upgrade training while also serving as a standing aircraft emergency divert location.
“ACE shifts operations from centralized physical infrastructures to a network of smaller, dispersed locations that can complicate adversary planning, improve resilience, and provide more options for joint force commanders,” Rice said. “Ebbing will provide an excellent area for us to train the force on how to conduct ACE operations in support of deterrence, crisis response or other operations, while at the same time also supporting our U.S. F-35 pilot training mission.”
In June, the **Air Force Civil Engineer Center** partnered with the **U.S. Army Corps of Engineers**, the 97th Contracting Squadron at **Altus AFB**, Oklahoma, and the 772nd Enterprise Sourcing Squadron from AFIMSC, to award more than $27 million in appropriated funds for planning and design of construction. The work includes design on four military construction projects, construction of eight facility renovation projects and installation of 10 relocatable facilities. AFCEC, a primary subordinate unit of AFIMSC, is the design and construction execution manager of the effort planned to be complete in late 2028.
“AFCEC is partnering with the **Air Education and Training Command** to deliver timely and cost-effective design and construction solutions required to support operations at Ebbing Field,” said Col. George Nichols, deputy director of AFCEC’s Facility Engineering Directorate. “It’s the most hybrid beddown I’ve been a part of in 23 years: multiple active-duty missions on an Air National Guard base.”
The Arkansas installation officially became the location for the foreign pilot training mission in March when the **secretary of the Air Force** signed the project’s Record of Decision after completing the requirements within the National Environmental Protection Act and the Environmental Impact Statement. AFCEC’s NEPA team partnered with Ebbing ANGB and the National Guard Bureau to conduct the environmental impact analysis that led to the decision.
“The EIA gave us the green light to move forward with the construction phase and turn Ebbing into an Air Force foreign mission training center,” Nichols said. “Central location, existing fighter aircraft infrastructure, and range and airspace were decisive factors in making Fort Smith the official choice to host the FMS mission.”
Other key organizations engaged in execution include the host 188th Wing at Fort Smith and AFIMSC’s Detachment 7 providing installation and mission support for AETC, the parent of the training mission at Ebbing ANGB.
Ebbing ANGB will require new infrastructure, including a mix of military construction and facility renovation projects, to reach completion. AFCEC plans to use relocatable facilities to ensure the base is ready for initial operational capabilities in 2024, until permanent infrastructure is in place.

“It is a complex and large program that necessitates careful planning and construction of different facilities to line up with when the different countries will arrive for training,” said John Ahern, an AFCEC program manager. “Because we can’t build that quick, we’ll be leasing relocatable facilities to ensure the mission starts while MILCON construction is completed.”

Working hand-in-hand with multiple **Department of Defense** stakeholders, AFCEC is making steady progress with planning, design, and construction activities to ultimately accommodate 24 F-35 aircraft from the various nations and 12 Singapore air force F-16s.
Most facilities supporting the F-35 FMS aircraft will be new MILCON construction while beddown of the F-16s will require renovation and modernization of current infrastructure, Ahern said.
“A program of this magnitude on a constricted timeline shows how significant partnerships are to meet mission requirements and execute on time and within budget,” Nichols said. “We can’t succeed without the strong collaboration and partnership we have and utilizing all acquisition tools in our toolbox. Whether it’s managing the funds or awarding projects, we work as one team, across almost every AFCEC directorate, AFIMSC Resource Management and legal support, contracting agencies, and multiple USACE districts, to make this happen.”
Foreign Military Sales, overseen and directed by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, is a security assistance program authorized by the Arms Export Control Act. The act allows the U.S. to sell defense equipment, conduct training, and provide services to a foreign country when the president deems that doing so will strengthen U.S. national security and promote world peace, according to the **DSCA website.**LR 



USAF 



AF 



Air Force 



NDS 



National Defense Strategy 



AFMC 



Air Force Materiel Command 



AFIMSC 



Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center 



Ace 



Agile Combat Employment 



Ebbing ANGB 



Allies 



partners 



F-35 



Lightning II 



Singapore 



NATO 



f-16 



Fighting Falcon 



AETC 



Air Education and Training Command 



FMS 



foreign military sales 



airpower 



One Team One Fight 



MILCON 



SecAF 



Frank Kendall 



NEPA 



Altus AFB 



environmental impact Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fight
                    
                    SecAF Kendall AFA Warfare Symposium Q&A: Reoptimizing for Great Power CompetitionInnovation
                AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalists
                    
                    Chief Digital, Artificial Intelligence Office to host hackathon in HawaiiMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil