The ribbon has been cut on a new $25 million 6,800 square foot hangar at Ramstein, AB, Germany, that will allow maintenance of the Air Force’s largest airplanes no matter the weather conditions, reports Stars and Stripes. The hangar, which is big enough to house the C-5 or C-17, allows maintainers to work on the airplanes inside, helping the base handle the 400 flights a month. The hangar is complete with heavy-load cranes fixed to the ceiling, a maintenance training room, and three diesel engines that can pump enough firefighting foam to cover the airplane’s wings in case of fire. The project is one of several that are transforming fighter-base Ramstein into an airlift hub, following the closure of Rhein-Main AB, Germany last year.
The Air Force overall reduced its size by 120 aircraft in fiscal year 2021, but kept about the same number of fighter, bomber and attack aircraft, according to data supplied by the service. The F-35 fleet saw the biggest increase while the B-1B bomber fleet saw the largest decline.