VIRGINIA BEACH — Hardly a day goes by in Virginia Beach when aircraft don’t fly overhead. The U.S. Navy’s East Coast master jet base sits in the middle of the city, and its civilian neighbors inevitably grow accustomed to the rumbles in the sky.
“We coexist,” said Vice Mayor Rosemary Wilson.
Naval Air Station Oceana is currently home to F/A-18 Super Hornets, but they eventually will be replaced by a more advanced fighter jet: the F-35.
The F-35 is the Department of Defense’s most advanced and costly weapon system, according to the Government Accountability Office, an audit institution of the federal government. Each aircraft cost more than $100 million. The defense department has about 630 F-35s and plans to buy about 1,800 more. Lockheed Martin, with partners Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems, lead development of the F-35s.
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