The Navy announced Thursday it will suspend plans to build a jet practice airfield in a rural area of Virginia or North Carolina for at least three years, and instead will concentrate on finding a home base for Joint Strike Fighter squadrons in California.

A provision inserted into the 2011 military spending bill by North Carolina's two senators poses a new hurdle for the Navy in its quest to build an East Coast practice landing field for its aircraft.

FRANKLIN

The Navy will be demonstrating field carrier landing practice maneuvers today at Franklin Municipal Airport.

The demonstrations will be held from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the airport at 32470 John Beverly Rose Drive.  

FRANKLIN A 4 -year-old English spaniel named Shot was unimpressed with a display of naval muscle Wednesday. Standing near the tarmac where two E-2C Hawkeye reconnaissance planes displayed maneuvers for a crowd of about 75, Shot didn't react when the odd-looking planes simulated touch-and-go landings at Franklin Municipal Airport.

FRANKLIN During World War II, Naval Auxiliary Landing Field Franklin was a busy place, a stopover for hundreds of planes just off the assembly line to be rigged up before assignment to an aircraft carrier. Today, its successor, Franklin Municipal Airport, sees only about 14 takeoffs, landings or other operations a day - or about 5,000 each year.

RALEIGH, N.C.

Gov. Beverly Perdue and North Carolina's top legislative leaders are making clear again to the Navy that they don't want a practice jet landing field in a location strongly opposed by the local community.

Three groups who oppose Navy plans for a jet practice landing field in Virginia or North Carolina have banded together to ask the service a simple question: What's next?

A new provision added to the 2011 National Defense Authorization Act could stop funding to study proposed Navy airfield sites in North Carolina and Virginia.

NORFOLK The Navy is considering a new solution to what's become an old problem: too many planes scheduled for landing maneuvers at the same airstrip.

Jet noise would threaten the learning environment at 10 schools in three counties, according to opponents of a Navy airfield in Camden County. Elected officials in Currituck, Camden and Pasquotank counties have passed resolutions opposing the project, but are asking school boards to be more vocal with state and federal education leaders.