DORGAN PUSHING TO EXPAND AIR FORCE UAS MISSION TO GRAND FORKS
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
CONTACT: Justin Kitsch
or Brenden Timpe
PHONE: 202-224-2551
(GRAND FORKS, N.D.) – U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) is recommending to U.S. Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and Chief of Staff Norton Schwartz they locate a new active duty unit to operate Unmanned Aircraft Systems at Grand Forks Air Force Base to assist with military efforts in portions of the Middle East.
Currently, the Air Force keeps about 34 Predator unmanned aerial vehicles in the skies over Iraq and Afghanistan 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, using pilots, sensor operators and support personnel located at facilities in the United States – such as the Air National Guard wing in Fargo.
The Air Force plans to substantially increase the number by 2011 so it can better support the reconnaissance, surveillance and firepower needs of troops on the ground. The proposed GFAFB unit would operate some of these additional aircraft that could be flown anywhere in the world. While the additional aircraft for that mission will be overseas, the Air Force is reportedly planning to locate their crews at air bases in the United States, and Dorgan says Grand Forks is highly qualified to take on additional UAS responsibilities.
“Expanding the UAS mission at the Grand Forks Air Force Base just makes good sense,” Dorgan said. “With the base’s expertise in Unmanned Aircraft Systems, its high-quality facilities, and its strategic location, this UAS mission would be a good fit. It would bring new jobs to the Grand Forks area and expand the region's role as a hub of unmanned aircraft activity.”
Currently, the Air Force has not decided on where to base the new units, which will consist of ground control stations and several hundred personnel.
Dorgan made the announcement during the 2009 Unmanned Aircraft Systems Summit that he co-hosted with the Red River Valley Research Corridor and University of North Dakota. He said that he’s sent a letter to Secretary Donley and General Schwartz making the case for GFAFB to play a role in the expanded mission.
“GFAFB is already scheduled to be a major operating base for Predator-class and Global Hawk UAVs,” Dorgan said in a letter. “After the departure of the last KC-135 tankers in late 2010, the base should have sufficient excess facilities, dormitories and family housing for this mission as well as a potential future KC-X mission.”
The goal of the conference was to address the unmet need for UAS pilot training in the nation and to highlight emerging UAS initiatives in the Red River Valley.
One of those initiatives is the Center for Defense UAV Education at UND, which Dorgan previously secured $11.2 million in federal funding to establish.
—END—