RAF Mildenhall to close. Lakenheath to get F-35 by 2020

[skidrow]

Not heard of the 50% split so it must have been prior to 1987. It's always been full US funding since then.

[Snoop 95]

Exciting news on BBC TV local this morning. A Colonel in the USAF (didn't catch his location) said that the DoD is re-considering base closures in the UK. That said, the ones they specifically mentioned were Alconbury and Molesworth, not Mildenhall.

Here it is in a press clip:
https://www.forces.net/news/raf-mildenh ... considered

[Lossie]

That press report is from 2017 - they did look again and decided still to close Mildenhall. The local TV news the other day report I saw only mentioned Alconbury and Molesworth.

[Coasties]

The original plan was to close Molesworth/Alconbury and consolidate their functions at Croughton, this has since been reviewed and for the time being both Molesworth and Alconbury will continue to operate. Long term I suspect that they will consolidate at a location TBA.

[romeo bravo]

Don't know what be done at Alconbury that cant be done elsewhere. Alconbury is under housing and iso-containers

[tm74sqn]

Couple of dozen HASs (A-10 sized?) plus a dozen larger HASs (TR-1 / U-2 sized?) still there - could be useful. Just remove the cars, ISO containers, etc, and resurface runway and taxiways to make a very nice base! But it will (probably) never happen.

[iainpeden]

RIAT 2025?

[Nighthawke]

Deja vu - you wrote exactly the same thing on Monday!

[BOLLO]

Couple of dozen HASs (A-10 sized?) plus a dozen larger HASs (TR-1 / U-2 sized?) still there - could be useful. Just remove the cars, ISO containers, etc, and resurface runway and taxiways to make a very nice base! But it will (probably) never happen.

Build another control tower as the old one was demollished .

[andrewn]

Couple of dozen HASs (A-10 sized?) plus a dozen larger HASs (TR-1 / U-2 sized?) still there - could be useful. Just remove the cars, ISO containers, etc, and resurface runway and taxiways to make a very nice base! But it will (probably) never happen.

Build another control tower as the old one was demollished .

Right, it's not the airfield site that is being retained - it's just a small enclave that is now RAF Alconbury.

The airfield site is history, rapidly being bulldozed and turned into "Alconbury Weald". There's a group of very clever land speculators whom bought the airfield site off the MoD a few years ago for a knock-down price, and are in the process of making an absolute fortune off the proceeds of the 5,000+ houses and associated industrial property development.

[iainpeden]

Deja vu - you wrote exactly the same thing on Monday!

I did but in a slightly different context.

[romeo bravo]

Exactly AndrewN. A Security Team that can be moved to somewhere else; say Fairford?!?!

Airfield is gone.

[Knife 04]

Couple of dozen HASs (A-10 sized?) plus a dozen larger HASs (TR-1 / U-2 sized?) still there - could be useful. Just remove the cars, ISO containers, etc, and resurface runway and taxiways to make a very nice base! But it will (probably) never happen.

Build another control tower as the old one was demollished .

Right, it's not the airfield site that is being retained - it's just a small enclave that is now RAF Alconbury.

The airfield site is history, rapidly being bulldozed and turned into "Alconbury Weald". There's a group of very clever land speculators whom bought the airfield site off the MoD a few years ago for a knock-down price, and are in the process of making an absolute fortune off the proceeds of the 5,000+ houses and associated industrial property development.

Same as Heyford with the housing although some of the infrastructure there is in surprisingly good condition including the QRA area, HAS complexes and command bunkers

[Reach1985]

Build another control tower as the old one was demollished .

Right, it's not the airfield site that is being retained - it's just a small enclave that is now RAF Alconbury.

The airfield site is history, rapidly being bulldozed and turned into "Alconbury Weald". There's a group of very clever land speculators whom bought the airfield site off the MoD a few years ago for a knock-down price, and are in the process of making an absolute fortune off the proceeds of the 5,000+ houses and associated industrial property development.

Same as Heyford with the housing although some of the infrastructure there is in surprisingly good condition including the QRA area, HAS complexes and command bunkers

Sorry slightly off topic but am I right in thinking that UH, or parts of UH are now Grade II listed?

[Merlin37]

Exactly AndrewN. A Security Team that can be moved to somewhere else; say Fairford?!?!

Airfield is gone.

The Airfield may be gone but Alconbury is there solely to support Molesworth, which i have been told by people there that its not going anywhere anytime soon, due to the nature of the work carried out there and the expense of moving it.

[Ravendriver2008]

Couple of dozen HASs (A-10 sized?) plus a dozen larger HASs (TR-1 / U-2 sized?) still there - could be useful. Just remove the cars, ISO containers, etc, and resurface runway and taxiways to make a very nice base! But it will (probably) never happen.

TR-1 / U-2 HASs still there, as with Magic Mountain and Weapons storage Areas

The other HASs no longer there,

Alconbury Weald housing development ...albeit small village already has inhabitants

I am one of the volunteers with the Team Alconbury / Airfield Research Group on-site there.

Several companies have set up shop with large warehouses already on site.

One saving grace is flying in the form of MAGPAS relocating to Alconbury Weald in 2020...from Wytom with their new soon to be delivered Leonardo AW169. However those of us in training for PPl(H) were allowed to perform touch and go landings on the Airfield till 2 years back when some residents in Huntingdon moaned about helicopter noise so Urban and Civi revoked permission for Robinson R22/44 to use and ordered the H symbols to be painted over.

TBH... wished the drawdown in the mid 90s had not included returning the Airfield side ops to the MoD and subsequent selling off to developers in this case Urban and Civic.

Cheers

[Ravendriver2008]

Exactly AndrewN. A Security Team that can be moved to somewhere else; say Fairford?!?!

Airfield is gone.

The Airfield may be gone but Alconbury is there solely to support Molesworth, which i have been told by people there that its not going anywhere anytime soon, due to the nature of the work carried out there and the expense of moving it.

U turn on closure so it’s here to stay

https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2018-11 ... hire-base/

Cheers

[filmman]

Nothing stays static. Cold War over; The West cuts defence spending. Eventually nasty, normal reality dawns - continuing international power struggles, economic power shifts and resource acquisition. Now the USA is increasing defence spending but possibly finding it closed too many bases/airfields. Unfortunately once an airfield has gone it's gone. Mildenhall lost out to Fairford, though closure has been delayed to 2025. So if the USA wants more European bases it might keep Mildenhall open long enough to reasses how many bases, where and to build them. It might even decide to further reduce UK bases. Nothing is guaranteed in life except Mr Putin's latest escapade.
Filmman

[andrewn]

Other than the RJ move to Fairford, is there any any other recent evidence of reloaction to Germany for either the 100ARW or 352SOW?

All seems to have gone very quiet

[Gary]

There is a photo doing the round of facebook from Spang, showing signs up on a building on base saying future home of the 352nd SOW. If I can find it and get permission will post it