The U.S. Air Force has announced plans to bring four new missions, including new aircraft, to Robins Air Force Base (AFB), in Houston County, Georgia, beginning fiscal year 2022.
This according to a press release that Robins’ AFB officials published this week.
U.S. Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA-08) told his constituents in a newsletter Sunday that Robins AFB personnel “provide critical capabilities that counter our adversaries, such as China, Russia and Iran, and help our nation compete and win against the next generation of threats.”
“These new missions are the result of years of work by the Georgia Delegation, and will be a 50-year mission at the base that keeps Robins and Georgia at the forefront of addressing our country’s national security needs,” Scott said.
Robins AFB officials said this is a proposed plan, released as part of the Department of the Air Force’s fiscal year 2022 budget request. The plan hinges on Congressional approval of the retirement of E-8 JSTARS aircraft.
“The Air Force requested to begin retiring four E-8s next year, which would make way for new E-11 Battlefield Airborne Control Node aircraft and the repurposing of approximately 2,000 Robins active duty and Air National Guard airmen,” Robins AFB officials said in the press release.
If Air Force officials move forward with the plan then they will transition operations and maintenance personnel from the JSTARS mission to four new missions.
• Air Control Squadron: Robins AFB will host a unit whose day-to-day mission will be to provide command and control of aircraft in the Central Command theatre of operations.
• Joint All Domain Command and Control / Advanced Battle Management System Support: The Air Force plans to transition existing manpower to a classified mission in support of future capabilities associated with Joint All Domain Command and Control and the Advanced Battle Management System.
• E-11 Squadron: E-11 Battlefield Airborne Control Node aircraft and a squadron of active duty personnel will enable communications support to the joint force on the modern battlefield.
• Spectrum Warfare Group: A group of squadrons, composed of active duty Airmen and civilians, will take advantage of the skills prominent in Macon and greater Atlanta area, namely software and hardware experts in the electro-magnetic spectrum.
Pending the passing of the National Defense Authorization Act with provisions for JSTARS retirement, the first of the new missions are projected to begin in fiscal year 2022. Robins Air Force Base is the largest single-site industrial complex in Georgia, employing a workforce of almost 24,000 civilians, contractors and military members, according to the press release.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
