What You Need to Know: Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota is set to temporarily host 17 B-1B Lancer bombers from Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, beginning in February 2025, as Ellsworth prepares to accommodate the new B-21 Raider.
-The move, which could bring up to 1,000 airmen to Grand Forks for 10 months, is in the final stages of environmental and regulatory review. Recently, a B-1B Lancer conducted a refueling test at the base, marking the return of the aircraft after 30 years.
-Grand Forks AFB is now preparing to house the additional personnel and integrate operations with Ellsworth’s 28th Bomb Wing.
Established in the early stages of the Cold War, the Grand Forks Air Force Base (AFB) served as a major installation for the Strategic Air Command (SAC). At various times, it was home to the United States Air Force's B-52 Stratofortress, KC-135 tankers, Minutemen intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), and for a brief period from 1987 until 1994 it hosted the B-1B Lancer.
The North Dakota base has been preparing to again host the Cold War-era B-1B for at least 10 months beginning early next year. In August, the Air Force Global Strike Command announced that it was considering a plan to transfer 17 B-1s from Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, to Grand Forks AFB from February to November – as Ellsworth continues its preparations to host the B-21 Raider, the future backbone of the U.S. Air Force's bomber fleet.
It now seems the plan is likely to move forward, and the base is undergoing the final stages of the required environmental and regulatory review. Once that is completed, which could occur in the coming weeks, the Lancers along with somewhere between 800 and 1,000 airmen will make the temporary move.
Ellsworth has hosted the B-1B since 1987 and will continue to serve as a Lancer base at least until the Raider begins to enter service later this decade.
In advance of the expected move, a B-1B Lancer touched down at the North Dakota base on Tuesday and conducted a "hot pit" refueling – where the bomber landed, was refueled, and took off again with its engines running and without the crew likely even having time to stretch their legs!
According to the Grand Forks Herald newspaper, the Lancer "flew in from Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota to participate in a refueling exercise meant to test Grand Forks Air Force Base's underground refueling system."
That fueling system was reported to be in "remarkably good shape," despite it not being used in several years.
The timing of the event was also noted, as it occurred exactly "30 years and one day after the last of the B-1Bs assigned to Grand Forks during the Cold War departed the base in 1994."
For the airmen stationed at Grand Forks AFB, it was business as usual – even if few (or any) were present when the B-1 made its final departure three decades ago.
"This is not terribly new to us, but we do have to revisit a lot of basic principles of operating an aircraft like this, because this installation for many years has operated unmanned systems," Col. Tim Monroe, commander of the 319th Reconnaissance Wing at Grand Forks Air Force Base, told the hometown newspaper.
Hosting 17 aircraft – along with as many as 1,000 personnel – is now being addressed. Grand Forks AFB is working to ensure it will have the housing, health care, and amenities for the extended deployment.
In addition to playing host to the additional airmen, Monroe has said he sees it as an opportunity for greater integration between Ellsworth's 28th Bomb Wing and the Grand Fork's 319th Reconnaissance Wing.
Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.
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