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This is one of the Super Hornets of Strike Fighter Squadron 211.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- The state and the city of Virginia Beach are suing the Department of Defense to keep Navy jets at Oceana Naval Air Station.

Gov. Tim Kaine, Va. Attorney General Bob McDonnell and Beach Mayor Meyera Oberndorf announced Wednesday that two lawsuits were filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

The first lawsuit, filed against Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, challenges an order by the Base Closing and Realignment Commission that calls for the Master Jet Base to be moved from Virginia to the former Cecil Field in Jacksonville.

The suit argues that neither BRAC nor the President has the authority to move a military function to a location that is not an existing military installation.

The second lawsuit challenges a ruling by Department of Defense Inspector General Thomas Gimble, who found that Virginia Beach did not meet BRAC's requirements.

In 2005, BRAC ordered said the city must condemn and buy property in accident-prone zones around the base. State and city officials say they have taken steps to stop or roll back development there.

“The Commonwealth and the City of Virginia Beach remain committed to ensuring that the Master Jet Base remains at Oceana, as indicated by our compliance with the BRAC order,” Governor Kaine said.   “These lawsuits are the next step towards doing what is best for Virginia Beach, the Commonwealth, and the Nation, by securing the Base at Oceana,” Kaine said.

Mayor Oberndorf added, "Since the beginning of the BRAC process, the state and the city have taken all necessary steps to retain the Master Jet Base at Oceana.   The filing of these lawsuits does nothing to alter that commitment. We've appropriated $15 million in the current fiscal year to acquire property, adopted zoning ordinances requiring consistency with Navy guidelines, begun the process of acquiring properties incompatible with flight operations, and established a program of incentives for property owners to voluntarily convert incompatible land uses to compatible ones."

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)