309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see AMARC (disambiguation).

309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group
Active	2007-Present
Country	United States
Branch	Air Force
Type	Group
Role	Equipment Support
Part of	Air Force Material Command
Garrison/HQ	Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
Commanders
Current commander	Colonel Anthony A. Panek

Aerial View of AMARG, 16 May 1992
(Click on image to see high resolution)

Welcome sign at AMARG before its 2007 name change.

Boeing 707s being used for salvage parts for the C-135 airframe at AMARG.

Helicopters and Fighters at AMARG

B-1 Bombers in storage at AMARG

Navy F-4 Phantom II Fighters in storage at AMARG.

The 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG),^[1] often called The Boneyard, is a United States Air Force aircraft storage and maintenance facility in Tucson, Arizona located on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. AMARG was previously Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center, AMARC.

It takes care of more than 4,400 aircraft, including 700 F-4 Phantom IIs, whose total original purchase price is estimated at $27 billion. An Air Force Material Command unit, the group is under the command of the 309th Maintenance Wing of Hill Air Force Base, Utah. AMARG was originally meant to store excess Department of Defense and Coast Guard aircraft, but has in recent years been designated the sole respository of out-of-service aircraft from all branches of the U.S. government.

1 History
2 Storage Procedures
3 Accessibility
4 References
- 4.1 Book
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] History

AMARG was established in 1946,^[2] shortly after World War II as the 4105th Army Air Force Unit to house B-29 and C-47 aircraft. Davis-Monthan Air Force Base was chosen because of Tucson's low humidity, infrequent rainfall, and alkaline soil. The hard soil makes it possible to move aircraft around without having to pave the storage areas.

In 1948, after the Air Force's creation as a separate service, the unit was renamed the 3040th Aircraft Storage Depot. In 1965, the depot was renamed the Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center (MASDC), and tasked with processing aircraft for all the US armed forces (not just the Air Force). In the 1980s, the center began processing ICBMs for dismantling or reuse in satellite launches, and was renamed the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center (AMARC) to reflect the expanded focus on all aerospace assets.^[3]

In the 1990s, in accordance with the START I treaty, AMARG was tasked with eliminating 365 B-52 bombers. The progress of this task was to be verified by Russia via satellite and first-person inspection at the AMARG facility. Initially, the B-52s were chopped into pieces with a 13,000-pound guillotine. Later on, the tool of choice became K-12 rescue saws. This more precise technique afforded AMARG with salvagable spare parts.

In May 2007, command of AMARC was transferred to the 309th Maintenance Wing, and the center was renamed the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group.^[1]

[edit] Storage Procedures

There are four categories of storage for planes at AMARG:

Long Term - Aircraft are kept intact for future use
Parts Reclamation - Aircraft are kept, picked apart and used for spare parts
Flying Hold - Aircraft are kept intact for shorter stays than Long Term
Excess of DoD needs - Aircraft are sold off whole or in parts

AMARG employs 550 people, almost all civilians. The 2,600 acres (11 km²) facility is adjacent to the base. For every $1 the federal government spends operating the facility, it saves or produces $11 from harvesting spare parts and selling off inventory.^[4] Congressional oversight determines what kind of equipment may be sold to what kind of customer.

An aircraft going into storage undergoes the following treatments:

All guns, ejection seat charges, or classified hardware are removed
The fuel system is protected by draining it, refilling it with lightweight oil, and then draining it again. This leaves a protective oil film.
The aircraft is sealed from dust, sunlight, and high temperatures. This is done using a variety of materials, ranging from a high tech vinyl plastic compound (spraylat) to simple garbage bags.

The Group annually in-processes an undisclosed number of aircraft for storage and out-processes a number of aircraft for return to the active service, either as remotely controlled drones or sold to friendly foreign governments. For instance, Turkey has purchased several Vietnam-era jets in recent years that had been kept at AMARG. There is much scrutiny over who (civilians, companies, foreign governments) may buy what kind of parts. At times, these sales are cancelled, the Air Force for example reclaimed several F-16s from AMARG for the Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor Courses and which were originally meant to be sold to Pakistan, but were never delivered due to an embargo at that time.

[edit] Accessibility

AMARG is closely guarded, and is off limits to anyone not employed there. The only exception is a bus tour which is conducted by the nearby Pima Air & Space Museum.^[5]