A US Air Force F-22 Raptor assigned to the 27th Fighter Squadron arrives at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam in support of Valiant Shield 24, June 7, 2024. (US Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Brian Long)
WASHINGTON — Half of the Department of the Air Force’s (DAF) installation infrastructure — composed of key features like airfields, munitions storage facilities and more across the Air Force and Space Force — is currently “in a moderate or high-risk condition,” according to a new report.
The DAF’s Installation Infrastructure Action Plan (I2AP), published Wednesday, sets out a 15-year roadmap to arrest the trend of declining facilities, which is only projected to get worse in the coming years without decisive action. The plan also seeks to ensure the service’s installations are prepared to withstand a range of threats, from natural to man-made, warning that they “can no longer be considered a sanctuary” as the Pentagon strives to keep pace with China’s growing military prowess.
“We know that over the past decade, we have not paid attention to our installations the way we should,” Ravi Chaudhary, assistant secretary of the Air Force for Energy, Installations and Environment, said during a Wednesday discussion hosted by the Air & Space Forces Association. The I2AP “is designed to be the most comprehensive and focused initiative to get our installations ready for great power competition.”
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Divided into four categories that each represent different elements of installation infrastructure, the I2AP sheds light on grim realities. The first category, primary and secondary airfields, fares better than others, though over 25 percent of the airfields are rated either degraded or failing.
The outlook is worse for the “mission critical facilities” category, made up of elements like fuel storage and fire and rescue stations, where over half of infrastructure is deemed degraded or failing. “Mission generation facilities,” described as assets like munitions storage and aircraft maintenance shops, scored similarly to their mission critical counterparts. The DAF’s 640 munitions storage facilities, with an average age of 47 years, get a particular call-out in the report, as a “[a] growing number of storage facilities are unable to support advanced munitions and, in some cases, cannot be modified to meet the emerging requirements.”
The worst-performing category, according to the report, is utilities, where nearly 75 percent are either degraded or failing. Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) utilities — which would be at the centerpiece of a conflict with China — were found to be “severely degraded.” According to the report, 70 percent of PACAF utilities are at “serious risk,” a problem magnified by challenging conditions like a “highly corrosive” environment and “limited availability of skilled labor.”
The condition of DAF infrastructure. (Source: Air Force I2AP report)
The I2AP sets out three “objectives” to get after these challenges. The first broadly aims to ensure infrastructure is aligned to modern missions, setting out tasks from upgrading communications systems to improving dormitories and child development centers.
Arguing that infrastructure hasn’t appropriately downsized since the Gulf War, the second objective aims to “right-size” infrastructure — either by shrinking it or finding cost savings, including through new public-private partnerships or other arrangements. For spaceports in particular, the second objective also seeks to ensure adequate infrastructure is in place to support “enhanced space launch and test operations.”
And rounding out the list of objectives is to make installations more resilient, reducing vulnerabilities stemming from adversary attack or other events like energy shortages and natural disasters. For example, the objective calls for embracing microgrids across DAF installations “to provide localized energy generation,” as well as shoring up systems against cyber attacks.
Air Force Materiel Command will lead guidance for implementing the I2AP, according to the report, which adds that the overall plan will be governed under an “Infrastructure Council.”
“I’m transitioning in January, and it’s been a heck of a run,” Chaudhary said, referring to the forthcoming Trump administration. “But to me, I think marching down this pathway to ensure that our installation[s are] ready has nothing to do with politics. It has everything to do with warfighting and making sure we deliver resources and capabilities to our airmen and guardians that are befitting” of their roles.
