The strategic value of Andersen AFB, Guam, is center stage once again for US military planners, giving rise to a major overhaul. The Pacific region facility has been the site of continuous bomber and fighter rotations for the past year and may get permanent aircraft. It already is slated for a contingent of Global Hawks. All of which generates the need for more personnel and more facilities. USAF civil engineers are making plans to cover growth over the next decade, including housing for up to 2,400 more personnel, new hangars, water tanks, maintenance facilities, and quality of life facilities like a new clinic and dining hall.
The Air Force awarded a $13.08 billion contract to the Sierra Nevada Corporation on April 26 for its Survivable Airborne Operations Center aircraft, the successor to the service’s E-4B “Doomsday” plane. Like the E-4B, officially called the National Airborne Operations Center, the SAOC will be meant to withstand a nuclear attack and keep…