Two North Dakota Senators are touting infrastructure improvements at Grand Forks Air Force Base (AFB) and the 319th Reconnaissance Wing (RW) that would lead to future Air Force Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR) missions.
Sens. John Hoeven (R-ND) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) helped secure the necessary funding for the Air Force Base through their advocacy with Air Force Chief of Staff General Charles Q. Brown Jr.
“In next year’s budget, we are addressing emerging threats posed by our adversaries and ensuring that the Air Force will have the most capable ISR systems,” Hoeven, a Senate Defense Appropriations Committee member, and Cramer, a Senate Armed Services Committee member, noted via a joint statement. “Grand Forks Air Force Base and the 319th Reconnaissance Wing are foundational in the Air Force’s long term plan for ISR and joint all-domain command and control capabilities to meet the highest national defense priorities.”
Air Force commitments secured by Hoeven and Cramer will be used to:
- Conduct infrastructure planning in 2022 for construction and renovation projects at Grand Forks Air Force Base that will enable the 319th Reconnaissance Wing (RW) to develop and train a crew force and expand operational employment tactics for ISR systems.
- Budget for construction and renovation projects to occur during 2023-2026 at Grand Forks Air Force Base in support of future 319th RW missions; and
- Expand the number of operational units under the command of the 319th RW that are involved in next generation missions, such as the E-11 Battlefield Airborne Control Node aircraft mission at Robins Air Force Base, GA starting in 2022 and a second geographically separated unit in the future.