Runway renovation at JB Charleston, S.C., is forcing commercial air traffic at Charleston International Airport to divert in poor visibility conditions due to a lack of civil navigation aids. Since Charleston airport and the base share runways, both civil and military traffic have been shifted to the base’s secondary runway while the main strip is under construction. While the Air Force is using a mobile microwave landing system, the secondary runway lacks an Instrument Landing System for civilian aircraft, the Charleston Post and Courier reported. “The FAA is responsible for procuring and maintaining navigational aids for civilian aircraft,” Capt. Frank Hartnett, base spokesman, told the Courier. The FAA discussed procuring navigation aids with USAF funding, but “there are no plans to put an ILS on the secondary runway,” according to Sue Stevens, airport director. Charleston’s 9,000 foot runway is scheduled for completion in November.
The Air Force’s Experimental Operations Unit hosted a change of command ceremony recently, another sign of how the CCA concept is maturing and becoming entrenched in the Air Force’s structure, to the point where exercises have generated multiple sorties in a single day to simulate high-tempo combat operations.