2019 was a big year for Hill Air Force Base and the F-35 – Standard-Examiner

HILL AIR FORCE BASE In 2019, Hill Air Force Base saw new developments that will bring thousands of jobs to Northern Utah, strengthen the installation's standing inside America's defense landscape and pave the way for major improvements to state infrastructure.

But like much of the past decade or so, big news around Hill this year centers mostly around the F-35. Here are the type five stories from the base in 2019:

In November, a $45 million project to reconstruct Hill's runway was been finished after nearly nine months of work.

A project designed to better handle Hills fully-developed F-35 fleet, the work included a complete asphalt rehabilitation of the 13,500-foot runway, the construction of wider shoulders, a widened taxiway on the south end of the facility, new overruns, new airfield signs, new electrical wiring and new airfield lighting. Base officials say the construction will improve pilot safety and better protect Air Force assets.

For most of the construction period, the runway was open to military aircraft because work was completed in three phases. The first phase began in February with work on some 4,000 feet at the north end of the runway. A second phase that started in June, required the entire runway to close as crews worked on the middle section. During that time, Hills fighter wings were deployed to several different locations.

For about two months during the summer, Hills 34th Fighter Squadron and 34th Aircraft Maintenance Unit moved their F-35A Lightning II operations to Mountain Home Air Force Base Idaho, nearly 300 miles northwest of Hill. The group included more than 250 airmen from 388th and 419th fighter wings and up to 24 jets. Hill pilots in Idaho continued their normal operations and flew with other Air Force units.

The 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, a sweeping, nearly 2,000-page bill that authorizes more than $738 billion to be spent on American defense programs, includes an Air Force land conveyance measure that will transfer approximately 35 acres at Hill to the Utah Military Installation Development Authority.

Sponsored by Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, the measure will facilitate a $90 million Interstate 15 interchange at 1800 North in Sunset, along with a new Hill gate there. The majority of the funding for the Utah Department of Transportation project is set to kick in between 2023 and 2024.

As part of the deal, MIDA is set to demolish the Armys Defense Non-Tactical Generator and Rail Equipment Center at the far west side of the base, which abuts I-15.

The new interchange will include flyover ramps on the east side of the freeway and will also provide another entrance into the Falcon Hill Research Park at Hill.

Officials say the project will relieve traffic pressure into Hill, particularly at the bases west and Roy gates, which are off of the 650 North freeway exit in Clearfield and the 5600 South exit in Roy, respectively. Currently, the base only has two full-time access gates: the west gate and the south gate off of State Route 193 in Layton. The Roy gate is open from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday.

In November, a group of airmen from Hill returned after a six-month deployment in the Middle East.

Members of Hills 388th and 419th fighter wings returned from Al-Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, a deployment that marked the first time the Air Forces F-35A Lightning II jets performed a real-world combat mission.

Supporting the Combined Joint Task Forces Operation Inherent Resolve mission, the group performed several missions, including close air support and regional deterrence against aggressors, according to a press release from Hill.

The squadron completed at least two combat strikes on enemy forces.

In September, F-35s and pilots from Hill were part of a group that dropped about 80,000 pounds of bombs on Qanus Island in Iraq a spot that has been used as a hideout by the Islamic State.

In April, Hill F-35 pilots conducted an air strike at Wadi Ashai, Iraq, hitting a long-established ISIS tunnel network and weapons cache in a remote area of the Hamrin Mountains.

At the time, Air Force officials said the strike marked the jets first real-world combat strike.

In August, Northrop Grumman broke ground on the Roy Innovation Center at Hill, which will serve as future headquarters for Northrops work supporting the Department of Defenses Ground Based Strategic Deterrent program. The center will be located just south of the Hill Aerospace Museum, near Hills border with Roy.

The United States current land-based ballistic missile force is currently made up of some 400 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles. The Air Force is upgrading the missiles, their rocket motors and other components, but plans to replace them through the GBSD program by about 2030.

According to the Congressional Research Service, the new program will cost more than $80 billion and run for 30 years. The total cost includes the acquisition of missiles, new command and control systems, and large-scale renovations of launch control centers.

Hill officials and members of Utahs Congressional Delegation have said the program will bring as many as 2,500 jobs to the area.

The program will eventually include six new buildings at Hill over one million square feet of office and lab facilities. Completion on first 231,000 square feet is scheduled to be finished by mid 2020.

After more than four years (and more than 10 years if you include the environmental review process) the base now has its full arsenal of F-35 fighter aircraft.

In December, the 388th Fighter Wing received an F-35A Lightning II from defense contractor Lockheed Martin a jet that marked the final F-35 delivery at Hill and brings the total number of aircraft on base to 78.

The first two operational F-35s arrived at Hill in September 2015. Since then, the base has received approximately one to two jets every month. During that time, the two fighter wings have flown more than 17,500 sorties and more than 33,000 flying hours.

The wings three squadrons the 4th, 34th and 421st each have 24 F-35As, with another six back-up aircraft stored at the base.

According to 388th FW spokesman Micah Garbarino, the F-35 mission at Hill added more than 400 personnel and generates an estimated $47 million to the Northern Utah economy every year.

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2019 was a big year for Hill Air Force Base and the F-35 - Standard-Examiner