RAAF Base Williamtown (IATA: NTL, ICAO: YWLM) is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military air base located 8 nautical miles (15 km; 9.2 mi) north of Newcastle (27 km (17 mi) by road) in the local government area of Port Stephens, in New South Wales, Australia.
[5] As of August 2017[update] RAAF Williamtown employed approximately 3,500 personnel, including military, civilians and contractors, and generated $150 million per annum by way of salaries in the Hunter Region economy.
[11] In 2014, the Australian Government announced that Williamtown would be the home base for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters; the first of which arrived in December 2018,[12] and enter service with the RAAF in 2020.
[17] The use of firefighting chemicals over a sustained period has resulted in contamination of the groundwater in the area surrounding the base, with residents initiating a class action lawsuit and expressing ongoing concern in national media over the impact on their properties.
[23][24] The following units are located at RAAF Base Williamtown:[25] This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency