Late Friday USAF announced plans related to basing for C-17, C-27J, and MC-12W aircraft. Additional C-17 candidate bases are Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport at Martinsburg; Memphis International Airport, Tenn.; and Stewart International Airport, N.Y.—all must undergo an environmental impact analysis, following which, in November, USAF will announce preferred locations and expects to determine final basing in June 2011. On the C-27J, USAF released the basing criteria to Congress and state officials and expects to issue a list of candidate bases for formal training units in May, followed by a list for operational locations in June. For the MC-12W, USAF expects to begin site surveys and environmental assessments immediately to winnow the list of candidate bases—Altus AFB, Okla.; Beale AFB, Calif.; Key Field, Miss.; Langley AFB, Va.; Robins AFB, Ga.; and Whiteman AFB, Mo.—down to a preferred list, slated for release in late summer and followed by the final selections in spring 2011. (C-17 release; C-27J release; MC-12W release)
Since President Donald Trump first unveiled his “Golden Dome” missile defense initiative in late January, much of the focus for it has been focused on space—how the Pentagon may deploy dozens, if not hundreds, of sensors and interceptors into orbit to protect the continental U.S. from missile barrages. But the Air…