Airmen refuel F-22 Raptors from the 95th Fighter Squadron, 325th Fighter Wing, Tyndall AFB, Fla., at Spangdahlem AB, Germany, on Aug. 14, 2018. Air Force photo by A1C Valerie Seelye.
Numerous USAF construction projects, especially ones in Europe or those focused on new aircraft, could be on the chopping block if the White House’s request for emergency funding to build a border wall is approved, according to a memo the Defense Department sent to Congress on Monday.
In response to questioning during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing last week, the Pentagon provided lawmakers a long list of military construction projects in each service that are authorized, though a contract has not yet been awarded.
However, some of the projects include military housing, which the Pentagon has said would not be impacted by the border wall.
The Defense Department is requesting about $7 billion for wall construction in its fiscal 2020 budget.
Air Force projects that could be impacted include KC-46 facilities at Travis AFB, Calif., and JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.; F-35 maintenance and operation facilities at Luke AFB, Ariz.; multiple F-35 and AWACS facilities at Eielson AFB, Alaska; and MQ-9 facilities at Holloman AFB, N.M., among many others.
Several of the projects are funded under the European Deterrence Initiative, including upgrades at bases in Estonia, Hungary, Luxembourg, Norway, and Slovakia.
The full list is available here.