Northern Utah’s Hill Air Force Base could see a $6.5 million boost bolstering its F-35 repair capabilities thanks to a new military bill making its way through Congress.
The House passed its annual appropriations bill funding military infrastructure and veterans affairs last week, and tucked into the spending package is a million-dollar provision to construct an F-35 canopy maintenance facility for the Air Force’s third-largest base in the United States. The facility will also support canopy repairs for the Navy, Marines and several allied nations.
The spending line was secured in the funding package by Rep. Blake Moore, who represents the district where the Air Force base is located.
“The maintenance work for the F-35s and making sure they’re ready to fly is one of the most important programs that we have,” Moore said in a video posted to social media.
The proposed facility is intended to serve as the Air Force’s sole depot-level canopy repair site, meaning the highest level of maintenance such as rebuilding or complete restoration. The facility will specialize in repairing F-35 canopies, referring to the transparent enclosure that covers the cockpit.
The current temporary F-35 canopy repair stations located at Hill Air Force Base are considered inadequate to meet increasing demands. The stations can only support a “low initial production rate of six assemblies per month,” according to Moore’s office, which is acceptable at present but will soon be outpaced as the Air Force acquires more F-35 aircraft.
“As the Air Force continues to acquire more F-35 aircraft, more of the canopy depot maintenance work currently being done by the manufacturer will soon, by contract, be transferred to the Air Force; at which time a much larger repair facility on base will need to be ready,” Moore’s office said in a press release.
The new facility will be necessary to avoid repair backlogs, higher maintenance costs and outsourcing projects to private contractors, his office added.
The annual spending bill will now head to the Senate for consideration.