I've heard from a well-informed non-spotting source that the 351st ARS 100th ARW at RAF Mildenhall will be disbanded or moved to the States by the end of 2016.
I personally don't believe it, but this has come from a "well-informed and reliable" source.
Ecm wrote:Wing disbanded, squadron to ramstein wing??
As per the initail official announcement, but since it has been established Ramstein won't be able to accomodate this unit without major infrastructure upgrades, which have not yet been budgeted.
Likewise, the closure of Mildenhall has been pushed back to some point in the second half of the next decade.
evhest wrote:Wasn't it already known that these tanker move to Spangdahlem?
Correct but to my knowledge (and I am getting older) it was Ramstein, and Ospreys to SP. Nevertheless I do not think it is going to happen quickly and these plans were made public Prior Putin interfered in Ukraine and Syria.
Besides I would expect quit some constructions at Ramstein before this could be posible....
If the rumour about the onfortunate disbanding of the 351st is correct there is also a little positive note. This is that the 351st was only established in the early 90's. Before that tdy tanker detachments at Fairford, Mildenhall (and Zaragoza?) were in place to provide air refuelling over Europe. Off course there were many more fighters around back then but the disbanding of the 351st could mean the return of tdy tankers in Europe although not in the numbers that were required in the 80s.
But I hope it is just a rumour and nothing will change for some time to come.
I heard Ramstein as well... and found this on the Internet.
"Ramstein, already host to one of the busiest airfields in the U.S. Air Force, will take on the air-to-air refueling mission, with plans to move 15 KC-135 Stratotankers and about 700 personnel from the 100th Air Refueling Wing at Mildenhall to the Kaiserslautern-area base, said Maj. Mike Andrews, a USAFE-AFAFRICA spokesman."
The construction on the area on the north eastern side of Ramstein across from the East Gate is for the new hospital to replace the Landstuhle Regional Medical Center Hospital. No major construction is going on the Air Base at this time. There isn't a lot of room left on the flight line for 15 KC-135's. I think it would take at least one or two major hangars to do maintenance and tearing down of several smaller hangars to make room for them. With all the budget cuts I am not sure they will make the investment at Ramstein AB that it would take to support them. It is all speculation at this point.
Last i heard; decission has been made. Ramstein will house them. The large C-130 ramp north east should be adjusted. With the C-130's moving back to the center ramp. No exact timeframe.
I was at Mildenhall last week and nothing has been mentioned about this. I also spoke to 100ARW Public Affairs and without going into detail, the conversation I had would not have been taking place if they were moving out imminently. Finally, something that has not been mentioned is the fact that fuel storage tanks for the 100ARW will presumably need to be constructed at Ramstein. Believe me, KC-135s do not 'fill-up' from bowsers and enormous amounts of fuel will need to be stored in underground tanks to re-supply the 15 KC-135s there, if and when they move. Has any of this work commenced at Ramstein yet?????? No decision has been made to cancel the proposed move to Ramstein that I know of, but I doubt it being soon!
nellis6 wrote:Believe me, KC-135s do not 'fill-up' from bowsers and enormous amounts of fuel will need to be stored in underground tanks to re-supply the 15 KC-135s there, if and when they move.
The KC-135 only has only about 10% more fuel capacity than a C-17 (203.000 pounds vs 181.000 pounds). Given that Ramstein is able to service multiple C-17s a day, I fail to see how that would be such a huge problem. Sure, more may be needed, but that would just be part of the total infrastructure adjustments.
nellis6 wrote:Finally, something that has not been mentioned is the fact that fuel storage tanks for the 100ARW will presumably need to be constructed at Ramstein. Believe me, KC-135s do not 'fill-up' from bowsers and enormous amounts of fuel will need to be stored in underground tanks to re-supply the 15 KC-135s there, if and when they move. Has any of this work commenced at Ramstein yet?????? No decision has been made to cancel the proposed move to Ramstein that I know of, but I doubt it being soon!
Have you ever heard of the Central Europe Pipeline System (CEPS). I think that will answer your question concerning fuel storage at Ramstein...!
Btw. UK MoD announced that it doesn't need RAF Mildenhall after the USAF pulls out in 2023. http://www.buryfreepress.co.uk/news/min ... -1-7667494
Enjoy the last years of flying ops at Mildenhall. I personally can't wait for the closure of that Airfield
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