The C-5Ms assigned to Dover AFB, Del., will relocated to JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., this summer during the next phase of the base’s 18-month runway reconstruction project. Dover’s north-south runway 01-19 has been closed since early February, but the base’s other runway so far has remained fully operational. However, as contractors begin work on the intersection of the two runways, the length of the second runway, 14-32, will be reduced from 12,900 feet to 6,000 feet. The C-5Ms will relocate to New Jersey in June and remain there until work is complete in December, according to a base release. Dover’s C-17As will continue to operate from the base. “We will routinely land on 3,500 feet of runway … the distance will only limit our weight capacity,” said Lt. Col. Jason Mills, 3rd Airlift Squadron commander. As such, the Globemaster IIIs may have to stop at McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst or JB Andrews, Md., for fuel on long trips across the ocean, said Capt. Justin Brozzetti, 3rd AS tactics chief. The base’s C-17 flight simulator also is undergoing some changes to help pilots get familiar with the airfield while it’s under construction, said Miguel Lutman, L-3 Communications site manager, in the release.
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.