KC-135R Stratotankers from the 434th Air Refueling Wing at Grissom ARB, Indiana, will temporarily relocate to Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, later this month during a 45-day, $3.2 million renovation of Grissom’s runway. The wing also is expected to bring personnel to support its aviation training and alert mission, states a May 14 Wright-Patt release. The first tankers are slated to arrive on May 27 and Grissom’s runway will close June 1. “We are doing this to prevent buckling of the runway due to thermal expansion,” said John Robison, 434th Civil Engineer Squadron chief engineer, in a May 13 Grissom release. “The pavement heaves up during the summer time, so we are going to put in expansion joints in the pavement that allow it to move around and prevent an un-level pavement surface.”
President Donald Trump on July 4 signed into law $150 billion in defense funds as part of the tax-and-spending package known as the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” after congressional Republicans approved the legislation in narrow, drawn-out votes earlier this week.
