VIDEO RELEASE: Senator Ashley Moody, Colleagues Ask President Trump to Send F-35As to Homestead Air Reserve Base

Jun 11, 2025
WASHINGTON,D.C.–Senator AshleyMoody and her colleagues from Florida sent aletterto President Trump thanking him for his incredible work tokeep our nation safe, make our military the most lethal fighting force in theworld and return peace through strength. The letter asked the administration toensure that the F-35A goes to Homestead Air Reserve Base and that F-35Aproduction quantities remain undeterred. This will advance President Trump’smission and support Homestead’s vital role in national security, fromsupporting U.S. Southern Command and housing Special Operations Command Southto interdicting narcotics and human trafficking through U.S. Customs and BorderProtection.
Senator RickScott and Congressmen Mario Díaz-Balart, Gus Bilirakis, Neal Dunn, CarlosGiménez, Mike Haridopolos, Brian Mast, Cory Mills, Jimmy Patronis, JohnRutherford, and Daniel Webster are co-signers of the letter.
Read thefull letterHEREor below.
DearPresident Trump:
We wouldfirst like to thank you for your efforts to keep our nation safe, make ourmilitary the most lethal military force in the world and return peace throughstrength around the world. As Commander in Chief, you understand the criticalrole Florida plays in delivering on that mission and protecting our nationalsecurity. From deterring and preventing the approximately $2.7 trillion impactto American lives through fentanyl counternarcotics efforts to supportingSouthern border operations and homeland defense alert missions along ourcoastlines, Homestead Air Force Reserve Base (HARB) is critical for ournational security. Florida’s strategic location makes it uniquely postured tocounter Chinese, Russian, Violent Extremist Organizations (VEOs), and transnationalcriminal organizations (TCOs) and their influence in the southern hemisphere.These regional threats are the largest contributor to the state of nationalemergency within the United States over illegal aliens, infiltration of Tren deAragua and MS-13 gangs, and illicit opioids.
Under yourleadership as both our 45th and 47th president, Florida continues to fight thecartels and drug traffickers, leading to South Florida being named the HighIntensity Drug Trafficking Area of the Year. We dismantled or disrupted 54 drugtrafficking organizations in 2023 and seized an estimate value of $748 millionin illicit drugs, including 23 metric tons of cocaine, 248 kilograms ofmethamphetamine, and 224 kilograms of fentanyl.
Through U.S.Southern Command, appropriately headquartered in Florida, we are tracking andthwarting Chinese efforts to expand their Belt and Road Initiative in LatinAmerican Countries to monopolize natural resources, such as 20% of the world’soil reserves, 25% of the strategic metals, and 31% of the fishing areas. We areworking to claw back the $358 billion amassed by 35 TCOs in the region in 2023through interdiction and counter trafficking efforts to help stabilize SouthAmerica, preventing their problems from reaching our shores. The RussianSurface Action Group, led by the frigate Admiral Gorshkov and cruise missilesubmarine Kazan docked in Havana, Cuba, passed within 30 miles of the FloridaKeys last June. Florida is uniquely postured to support the border alertmission to deter these acts of aggression.
WithinFlorida, HARB serves a foundational role in supporting the most criticalnational defense missions. HARB generated $364 million for the local economy in2023 alone. It is the home to the 2,500-member 482nd Fighter Wing and itsreserve associate, the 367th Fighter Squadron, responsible for F-16 alertsacross the coastline in support of Operation Noble Eagle. It houses the Customsand Border Protection Air and Marine Branch, operating Blackhawks andturbo-prop airliners like the DHC-8 to interdict smugglers and prevent illegalaliens from crossing into the United States. Special Operations Command SouthHeadquarters is also resident at HARB, executing special operations as assignedto U.S. Southern Command, spanning 31 countries and 10 overseas territoriesacross Central and South America and the Caribbean.
Florida’sGulf of America, Atlantic Ocean access, and its proximity to Central and SouthAmerica is what drove the 125th Fighter Wing Air National Guard (ANG) unitselection for the F-35A Lightning II. Starting with an initial batch ofaircraft to Jacksonville ANG in March of this year and expanding to the 125thFighter Wing Detachment 1 at HARB in 2027. The Air Force Reserve also plannedthis F-35A modernization to replace the aging F-16C fleet within the 482ndFighter Wing. This would create a common fighter platform between the Reservesand National Guard at HARB, reducing costs for base operations through sharedmaintenance efforts. Together, these units would provide a considerableincrease in readiness for the North American Aerospace Defense Command Alertmission across both the Southern and Eastern U.S. border as well as downrangemulti-role operations through short-notice worldwide deployments.
Together, weask your administration to ensure that the F-35A goes to Homestead Air ReserveBase and the F-35A production quantities remain undeterred. There is no realtrade when comparing other airframes and locales to a multi-role fighteraircraft capable of countering Russian, Chinese, VEOs, and TCOs operationsacross the entirety of the Southern and Eastern U.S. border and throughout theSouthern Hemisphere. HARB is a vital asset for our national security and powerprojection, and critical for your Peace through Strength agenda. Thank youagain for your leadership and we hope you will consider, within all applicablerules and regulations, our input on the matter.
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