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This Alaskan Air Base Will Host An Experimental Mini Nuclear Reactor

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The U.S. Air Force recently announced that it has picked Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska as the base to host a new small nuclear reactor as part of a pilot program. The U.S. military, as a whole, together with the Department of Energy has been increasingly looking into micro-reactor designs as possible ways to meet ever-growing electricity demands, including for units on the battlefield, as well as to help cut costs and improve general operational efficiency by reducing reliance on fossil fuels.

The Department of the Air Force announced the selection of Eielson as the host facility for this pilot reactor on Oct. 18, 2021. The base is situated deep within the interior of Alaska near the city of Fairbanks and is around 110 miles south of the Arctic Circle. It is home to the active-duty 354th Fighter Wing, which flies F-35A Joint Strike Fighters and F-16 Viper aggressor jets, as well as the Alaska Air National Guard’s 168th Air Refueling Wing with its KC-135 tankers, among other units.

“Energy is a critical asset to ensure mission continuity at our installations,” Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Environment, Safety, and Infrastructure Mark Correll said in a statement. “Micro-reactors are a promising technology for ensuring energy resilience and reliability, and are particularly well-suited for powering and heating remote domestic military bases like Eielson AFB.” (Read more from “This Alaskan Air Base Will Host an Experimental Mini Nuclear Reactor” HERE)

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Russia Conducts Nuclear Bomber Flights Near Alaska; Massive Troop Build Up Near Ukraine

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Russian_Bear_H_Aircraft_MOD_45158146By Bill Gertz. Two Russian nuclear-capable bombers intruded into the U.S. air defense zone near Alaska last week in the latest saber rattling by Moscow, defense officials said.

The Tu-95 Bear H bombers flew into the Alaska zone on April 22. But unlike most earlier incursions, no U.S. interceptor jets were dispatched to shadow them, said defense officials familiar with the latest U.S.-Russian aerial encounter.

Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a spokesman for the U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), declined to confirm the incursion. But he said no jets were dispatched last week to intercept intruding aircraft.

The incident was the first Russian bomber incursion of a U.S. or Canadian air defense zone this year. Officials said it likely signals the start of Russia’s long-range aviation spring training cycle. Further aerial incursions are expected.

Last year, U.S. and Canadian jets intercepted Russian bombers on at least six occasions, and intruding Russian long-range aircraft were detected on 10 occasions, Davis said. (Read more from “Russia Conducts Nuclear Bomber Flight Near Alaska” HERE)

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Russians Amassing Forces on Ukraine Border

By FoxNews.com. Russia has recently sent arms and drone aircraft into eastern Ukraine and is massing its troops along the tense border, which raises concern about new escalation in the conflict, the State Department said Wednesday.

Russia has built up its air defense systems to their highest levels since August of last year, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement. Russia has been supporting separatists battling Ukrainian government forces.

Harf said Russia has now deployed more troops and military material on its border with Ukraine than at any time since the heaviest fighting in October.

“After maintaining a relatively steady presence along the border, Russia is sending additional units there,” Harf said. “These forces will give Russia its largest presence on the border since October 2014.”

Despite Moscow’s denials of any involvement in the escalating tensions, Harf said Russians and separatists are conducting complex training missions that leave “no doubt” that Russian troops are present in that part of the embattled country. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Senior Air Force Official Views Alaska’s Eielson to be Top Pick for F-35 Pacific Squadron

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Air ForceBy Military News. Eielson Air Force Base has “phenomenal assets” that make it attractive for basing new F-35 fighter jets, an Air Force official said Wednesday at a public scoping meeting.

“One of the reasons the Air Force is looking at Eielson is there used to be more squadrons assigned at Eielson Air Force Base than we currently have,” said Col. Michael Winkler. “We do have some decent capacity.”

Eielson’s 14,500-foot runway is long enough to land any aircraft in the Air Force, Winkler said. Ramp space can accommodate more than 130 aircraft. The base has good access to energy resources and a large munitions storage facility, he said.

“All of this current capacity has the Air Force thinking that Eielson is the preferred alternative in the Pacific,” Winkler said.

The Air Force considered eight other locations for the first Pacific squadron of high-tech F-35s, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported. The Air Force in August announced Eielson as the preferred alternative for the 48 aircraft. (Read more from “Air Force Official Touts Eielson as Best Pick for F-35 Pacific Squadron” HERE)

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Budget Cut Would Hit ‘Every Part’ of Air Force

By Barrie Barber. The return of sequestration would impact “every part” of the Air Force while the service branch has called for an end to downsizing the number of airmen in ranks and pushes to restore readiness and modernize an aging fleet, the service branch’s top civilian leader said.

In an exclusive interview Thursday with the Dayton Daily News, Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James said sequester-imposed spending caps may cut $10 billion from the budget the Air Force wants.

The secretary toured Wright-Patterson on Thursday and addressed more than 200 Air Force Institute of Technology master’s degree and doctoral graduates and more than 1,000 others gathered at a ceremony at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.

“Ten billion is a big chunk of money and it would mean every part of our Air Force would be touched in some way,” she said in an interview. “It’s impossible to predict what that means for Wright-Patterson,” but it could strike programs like advanced engine research and raise the potential for a return of furloughs, she said.

In 2013, thousands of civil service workers were sent home for days at Wright-Patterson because of furloughs officials blamed on sequestration. Without action from Washington, sequestration is due to return in October, the start of the 2016 fiscal year. (Read more from this story HERE)

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