A powerful coalition of Florida lawmakers is urging President Donald Trump to prioritize the deployment of F-35A Lightning II fighter jets to Homestead Air Reserve Base (HARB). In a letter spearheaded by Senator Ashley Moody, the delegation emphasized HARB’s critical role in national security and its strategic importance in countering emerging threats in the Southern Hemisphere.
The letter, co-signed by Senator Rick Scott and Congressmen Mario Díaz-Balart, Gus Bilirakis, Neal Dunn, Carlos Giménez, Mike Haridopolos, Brian Mast, Cory Mills, Jimmy Patronis, John Rutherford, and Daniel Webster, thanked President Trump for his commitment to a strong military and “peace through strength.”
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The lawmakers argued that stationing F-35As at Homestead would significantly bolster the base’s capabilities, which currently include supporting U.S. Southern Command, housing Special Operations Command South, and playing a vital role in narcotics and human trafficking interdiction through U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
“Florida’s strategic location makes it uniquely postured to counter Chinese, Russian, Violent Extremist Organizations (VEOs), and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and their influence in the southern hemisphere,” the letter stated. It highlighted the state’s success in combating drug trafficking, citing the disruption of 54 drug trafficking organizations in 2023 and the seizure of an estimated $748 million in illicit drugs.
The delegation also underscored Florida’s role in thwarting Chinese efforts to expand their Belt and Road Initiative in Latin America and monitoring Russian military presence, such as the frigate Admiral Gorshkov and cruise missile submarine Kazan that passed near the Florida Keys last June.
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HARB, which contributed $364 million to the local economy in 2023, is home to the 2,500-member 482nd Fighter Wing, responsible for F-16 alerts along the coastline. The letter noted that the Air Force Reserve has planned F-35A modernization to replace the aging F-16C fleet at the 482nd Fighter Wing, creating a common fighter platform with the 125th Fighter Wing Air National Guard unit, which is already slated to receive F-35As in Jacksonville and a detachment at HARB in 2027. This modernization, they argued, would enhance readiness for North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) alert missions and global deployments.
The lawmakers concluded by urging the Trump administration to ensure the F-35A deployment to Homestead Air Reserve Base and to maintain current F-35A production quantities. They asserted that “there is no real trade when comparing other airframes and locales to a multi-role fighter aircraft capable of countering Russian, Chinese, VEOs, and TCOs operations across the entirety of the Southern and Eastern U.S. border and throughout the Southern Hemisphere.”
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