Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Rosanne Greco: “They have enough years of flying this thing to know that they have to take off with afterburners almost all the time.”
It’s established that F-35 fighter jets bedding down at Truax Field could cause life-disrupting noise for area residents. Under the proposal, the Wisconsin Air Guard’s 115th Fighter Wing would increase military operations at the airfield by 47 percent, which is especially significant considering that the F-35 is roughly four times louder to the human ear than the F-16, the fighter it would replace.
Some consolation is offered by the Air National Guard’s assertion that the F-35 wouldn’t use afterburners nearly as often as the F-16. Col. Erik Peterson, commander of the 115th Fighter Wing, emphasized that point during the environmental impact statement meeting at Alliant Energy Center’s Exhibition Hall on Sept. 12.
“The 115th Fighter Wing currently uses afterburner on approximately 60 percent of our F-16 takeoffs at the airfield,” he says. “Because the F-35A has more thrust and military power, the use of afterburner on takeoff is expected to be limited. As such, it has been modeled for 5 percent of takeoffs.”
Models using the 5 percent figure influenced the sound contour maps in the EIS, which provides an estimated outline of the neighborhoods that would be most impacted by noise pollution. (The document states that the F-35s coming to Truax would cause “significant disproportionate impacts to low-income and minority populations, as well as children.”) The same figure appears in near-identical documents prepared for bases in Burlington, Vermont, Boise, Idaho, and other communities across the country.
In practice, however, the F-35 could use afterburners 10 times more frequently, according to an internal U.S. Air Force memo obtained by Isthmus. In response to “some discrepancies and concerns over F-35 flight elevation and afterburner usage,” the Air Force appears to be counseling officials to adjust models based on using afterburners up to 50 percent of the time.
“It’s all just a big Charlie Foxtrot that could have been addressed over a year ago when we all questioned the validity of only using 5 percent [afterburners],” the memo reads.
The document was leaked to retired Col. Rosanne Greco of South Burlington and first reported by the local weekly newspaper VT Digger last month. After a 30-year career in the Air Force, Greco has become a prominent opponent of the F-35, calling for an alternative aircraft for the Vermont Air National Guard. She believes communities across the country are being deceived about how loud the state-of-the-art fighter jet will be.
“They’re making a lot of promises that I don’t think they can fulfill,” she tells Isthmus. “They have enough years of flying this thing to know that they have to take off with afterburners almost all the time.”
Afterburners are auxiliary burners fixed to a jet’s exhaust system that produce extra thrust and a dramatic blowtorch-like flame. They’re generally used for a boost during takeoff, steep climbs or combat situations, and anybody who’s been to an air show knows they’re intensely loud.
Based on her experience in the Air Force, Greco says that F-35 pilots are increasingly using afterburners out of necessity. “The F-35 is getting heavier and heavier with all the modifications and new weapons systems they’re adding on,” she says. “The shorter your runway, the more probable it is that they’ll take off with afterburners because they have to get up in the air. They’re already taking off with afterburners at Air Force bases, which have much longer runways than you do at Truax.”
The 115th Fighter Wing’s public affairs office referred Isthmus’ request for comment to the Air National Guard Bureau. EIS project manager Ramon Ortiz stands by the 5 percent figure, explaining that the Air Force evaluated afterburner use at Truax based on “basic training configuration, airfield elevation, runway length and hottest temperature on record.”
“The Air Force is currently modeling for 5 percent of take-offs at all [Air National Guard] locations as a conservative estimate of afterburner use,” he writes in a statement.
It remains to be seen — or heard — how often F-35s will ignite their afterburners in the skies over Greco’s hometown. If it happens more than advertised, she hopes Burlington can serve as a warning for other communities across the country.
“The F-35s are supposed to arrive in Burlington this month, and then we’ll find out,” she says. “A lot of people think that it will be too late for us by then, but it might not be for Madison. If you learn from what’s happening here, maybe the people there can be spared.”
On Sept. 17, Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway criticized the Air Force for not providing more information about possible impacts of the planes. “Based on what we know — and don’t know — today, it’s very difficult to evaluate the true impact of this project on the Madison region. Given this uncertainty, I am demanding better answers from the U.S. Air Force and the Air National Guard,” the mayor wrote in a statement.
