The 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group christened a new $25 million high-bay maintenance hangar at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., on Monday. The new hangar “provides a world class facility for a proud team of professional airmen so they can continue their mission … providing high quality aircraft and parts to the war fighter,” Ogden Air Logistics Complex Commander Brig. Gen. Steven Bleymaier said at the Dec. 7 ceremony. The 76,746 square-foot facility is capable of housing all but the largest aircraft in the Air Force fleet, and is built to high energy efficiency standards, according to a release. It incorporates full maintenance facilities and an administrative block, as well as visitor accommodations and an observation deck. The 309th AMARG oversees the Defense Department’s aircraft “boneyard” at Davis-Monthan, and will use the hangar for parts reclamation, aircraft sustainment, inspections, and routine maintenance.
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
