New fighter jets, jobs heading to Belle Chasse base with help of former commander

The military air base in Belle Chasse is slated to receive new squadrons of fighter jets for the U.S. Navy and Air Force reservists stationed there. The former commander of the facility, who worked behind the scenes to secure the aircraft, said their arrival will help ensure the future viability of the base.  

News on the jet acquisitions was shared last week during the Louisiana Military Advisory Council’s semi-annual forum, which brought together military and civilian leaders in the state.

The Naval Air Station/Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, located just downriver from the city, is on track to receive a dozen F/A-18 Super Hornet jets to replace its aging squadron of F-5 Tigers that are outdated and of little practical use to the Navy.

The Super Hornets will be equipped with cutting-edge active-scanning radar and jamming technology that will eventually allow more Navy Reserve aviators of the 204th Fighter Squadron, known as the River Rattlers, to deploy for real-world frontline missions. 

The new jets will shore up the base’s tactical importance to the Navy and likely prevent it from closure, according to retired U.S. Navy Reserve Capt. Brian Hennessy, who led the 204th squadron from 2013-14. Although he retired from the service in 2018, Hennessy has voluntarily worked with Congress and the Navy to return F-18s to the River Rattlers. 

When Boeing announced in 2023 it would discontinue production of that model, Louisiana’s congressional delegation introduced legislation to try to secure the last batch of Super Hornets for NAS/JRB New Orleans, but the active-duty Navy resisted buying new fighter jets for a reserve squadron, Hennessy said. So he kept needling the top brass until they offered to purchase the new jets as replacements for slightly older ones currently in use in Virginia and then send the slightly-older F-18s to the River Rattlers. 

Bringing up-to-date model F-18s to the base will bring more military personnel, resources and jobs to the area, according to Hennessy.

“Our little base in Belle Chasse has an enormous economic impact on the region,” he said in a phone interview. 

Luke Mixon, a retired fighter pilot and former U.S. Senate candidate, succeeded Hennessy as commanding officer of the 204th Fighter Squadron. He credits his old boss for doggedly pressing Congress and the Navy to get the airplanes. 

“He was such a pain in the ass to them,” Mixon said in a phone interview. “He just kept at it year after year and wouldn’t leave them alone, even when it looked like it was impossible.” 

Hennessy, who now flies for a major commercial airline, said the base was long in danger of closing as the Navy paid it little attention and little funding. The active-duty Navy was essentially using NAS New Orleans as an aircraft farm, from which they’d take any working jets and give them to other units that had broken theirs, he said. 

Several years ago, the Navy took the last of the base’s F-18s and swapped them for the aging F-5s that are too old for combat, relegating the unit to a training role.

“You could see the writing on the wall: The Navy would love to get out of the [Joint Reserve Base] in New Orleans,” Hennessy said.  

He said a good way to prevent the base from closing was to acquire modern aircraft that would make the River Rattlers a deployable squadron once again. 

There’s no official arrival date for the jets, though Hennessy and Mixon said it could be as soon as next year. 

Landry asks for Pentagon support to activate Louisiana National Guard

To maintain and support the jets, the base plans to employ 100 civilian contractors who will gradually be replaced by sailors beginning in 2029, according to the Military Advisory Council.

Additionally, NAS New Orleans is replacing its C-130 Hercules planes with newer C-130J models, including several KC-130J tankers, which serve as flying gas stations that allow mid-air refueling for other Navy planes. 

On the Air Force side of the base, the 159th Fighter Wing of the Louisiana Air National Guard is slated to get 18 to 20 new F-15EX Eagles to replace its 40-year-old F-15C/D jets. The new fighter jets will allow the unit to continue its North American Aerospace Defense mission. 

Under NORAD’s command, the 159th is supposed to have at least two jets on continuous alert at all times, ready to protect the Gulf Coast at a moment’s notice.

The fighter wing is scheduled to receive 13 of the jets in 2029 and the remainder over the next three years, according to the Louisiana Military Advisory Council.

Barksdale, Fort Polk plans

The Military Advisory Council also detailed plans and projects underway for other installations in Louisiana 

Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier Parish received previous funding from Congress for a $278.5 million weapons facility to support bomber operations, a $116 million dormitory for 192 people, an aircraft hangar and runway upgrades that total more than $90 million, and a $22.4 million daycare center expansion to add 13 classrooms and reduce overcrowding and waitlists for military families.

Congress has been asked to provide for $3 million for planning and design so Barksdale can renovate its dining facility. 

Fort Polk, an Army post in Vernon Parish, secured $30 million from Congress this year for the construction of a billeting area, in addition to $55 million allocated last year. The project will provide temporary lodging for out-of-town units that attend the fort’s Joint Readiness Training Center. 

The base will also receive $11.5 million to establish a lab that will integrate emerging technologies into live Army training to rapidly test new systems in realistic environments.

Fort Polk is expected to add new bridge-building and engineering units, bringing an additional 540 soldiers to the post. This will bring the total number of troops stationed there to approximately 6,356 soldiers. 

Including family members and civilians, its total population is 27,471, according to Fort Polk Progress, a nonprofit civic alliance that advocates for the installation and serves on the council.

National Guard unit returns

In other state military news, roughly 700 soldiers with the Louisiana Army National Guard recently returned home in June from a year of overseas deployments, according to the advisory council.

The soldiers with the 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, based out of Lafayette, deployed in April 2025 to guard American bases in Kenya, Djibouti and Somalia and augment NATO’s peacekeeping patrols in Kosovo. 

The Louisiana National Guard has a combined 825 Army and Air Force personnel currently deployed on federal orders. Of those, approximately 593 are serving outside of Louisiana, including in Romania, Washington, D.C., and at the southern border, according to the advisory council.