Red Tails legacy: Guard unit unveils new F-35 fighter jets in Montgomery
One of the U.S. military’s most advanced planes got a rock-n-roll debut Friday morning at Dannelly Field, as the 187th Fighter Wing officially unveiled the F-35 Lightning II. Hundreds gathered in a hanger for the ceremony before the ear-splitting riffs of AC-DC’s “Thunderstruck” drowned out all sound and the doors opened to show the jet on the ramp.
In 2017 the Alabama Air National Guard unit won the competition to be home for the F-35, a fifth-generation fighter that’s touted for its advanced technology. Landing the Lightning secured a future for the 187th and its nearly 1,500 jobs. It also preserved the multi-million economic impact the wing has for the region.
“In 2017, the 187th became one of two Guard units in the country to be chosen to one day be home for the F-35,” Gov. Kay Ivey said in her earlier remarks. “Well y’all, the wait is over.”
The first three F-35s arrived in Montgomery in December.
“The F-35 symbolizes the strength of America, but also the grit and determination of Alabama,” she said.
Friday’s victory lap capped a years-long effort to land the fighter. The 187th was flying the F-16 Fighting Falcon, a capable fighter, but the unit’s aircraft were getting long in the tooth. They were some of the oldest fighters in the military and their service life was coming to an end.
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The options were for the unit to inherit newer versions of the F-16 or transition to other aircraft. But there was real concern the retirement of the planes could bring a shuttering of the unit. A massive community effort kicked off to get the F-35 to Montgomery.
“It started with the Obama administration and ended in the Trump administration,” Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Selma, said before the ceremony began. “The success is testament Alabama’s whole congressional delegation and the local effort, that the F-35 is here. I’m excited to see the latest, greatest fighter jet in the arsenal call Alabama home.”
The numbers associated with the F-35 are staggering. Each fighter has a hefty price tag of about $80 million. When fully operational in spring of 2026, the 187th will have a complement of 20 of the aircraft. Construction at the base continues on the infrastructure needed to support the airplane, an effort that will be an investment of about $111 million when all is said and done.
The 187th has 40 pilots and about 1,400 support, maintenance and staff personnel. There are now five F-35s in Montgomery with three more to be delivered in the coming weeks. These aircraft are inherited from other F-35 units. Then remaining aircraft needed to fill out the complement of 20 will be coming straight off Lockheed Martin’s assembly lines.
The 187th traces its lineage to the Red Tails, the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II fame. At the time the prevailing thought was that Blacks were incapable of flying aircraft. The then called Tuskegee Experiment trained black fighter pilots at Moten Field in Tuskegee.
They fought racism at home to get a chance to get into combat. They fought the Axis powers in Europe, first flying the P-40, and obsolescent fighter at that stage in the war. They went on to P-51 Mustangs, which many consider to be one of the best fighters of World War II, and flew escort mission from Italy protecting American bombers.
The squadrons painted their tails bright red as a way to be identified in combat, hence the moniker Red Tails. The F-35s are twin-tailed aircraft, with the 187th markings painted bright red.
“The Red Tail legacy continues,” said Col. Brian “Thud” Vaughn, commander of the 187th before Friday’s ceremony. “It is a legacy of excellence. In this time when the country is so divided, we look back on that legacy as we strive to form a more perfect union.”
The 187th was formed in the 1950s, and the F-35 is the sixth airplane the unit has flown. It started with the RF-51, the photo reconnaissance version of the Mustang, then went to the RF-80 Shooting Star and then RF-84 Thunderstreak both first generation jets, in a photo-recon mission. In the early 1970s the famed F-4 Phantom landed with the unit flying both the recon and then in the 1980s going to the fighter version of the Phantom. In 1988, the F-16s took over.
Pilots look forward to flying the F-35, Vaughan said.
“The bird is amazing, it can do things no other aircraft can do,” he said. “I tell people its like going from your old flip phone to an iPhone 15. We will ensure that the Red Tails stay a fighter unit for the next decades.”
The celebration ended on a high note after the unveiling as a Legacy Flight put on a show for the crowd. The four aircraft included a P-51 Mustang, along with two F-35s and an F-16. The F-35s and F-16 sported the red tails.
For about 15 minutes the flight made several passes, then “beat up” the field before coming in to land. The jets flew down the runway several times, low and fast, before pulling up into tight, climbing turns. The sounds of jet engines roared, as the planes made the maneuvers.
The P-51, a propeller driven aircraft, made two graceful loops above the runway, with its Merlin piston engine growling sweetly in contrast to the jets raucous soundtracks.
Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Alabama leaders cheer unveiling of new F-35 fighter jets in Montgomery
