PREDATOR

Pahrump Valley Times
February 11, 2004

Predator spurs growth at Indian Springs airfield

WASHINGTON - The Air Force plans to break ground in the next few weeks on a $26 million operations hangar at the Indian Springs auxiliary field, the first sign of a major expansion that reflects the growing importance of Predator spy planes based at the once sleepy camp, military and congressional officials said Friday.

When the expansion is completed in the next three or four years the Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Field, roughly 40 miles southeast of Pahrump, could rival parent Nellis Air Force Base in the number of stationed aircraft, Nellis spokesman Mike Estrada said.

"This is huge," Estrada said. "We've got at any given time 120 aircraft at Nellis and at the end of this program that little base that few people think of at Indian Springs will have almost the same number as the main base."

Propelling growth is the Predator, a fleet of 27-foot-long drones that has garnered high marks from military leaders and has captured the public's imagination.

As models of the unmanned air vehicle have advanced, the Predator has played increasingly visible roles in military operations in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq. Predators hunted for Osama bin Laden before and after the 2001 terrorist attacks. One served as a high altitude lookout when U.S. commandos rescued Army supply clerk Jessica Lynch from an Iraqi hospital last April.

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., on Friday disclosed that Congress appropriated funding for an Indian Springs operations hangar last fall, although lawmakers were not told until this week that they could announce it because parts of the Predator program remain secret.

At the same time, Ensign said the Air Force has asked for another $26.1 million in the upcoming fiscal 2005 budget to construct four maintenance buildings for the Predator at the Nevada site.
"I would expect this to go through because the Predator is such a high priority at the Air Force," said Ensign, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"Unmanned vehicles are becoming very popular in the military because of their versatility, they cost less and there is less risk with them," he said.

Ensign said the Indian Springs expansion is further evidence of the value the Pentagon puts on the adjoining 4,562-square mile Nellis Air Force desert range, where the Air Force conducts development and training flights for the Predator and other aircraft.

He said it also signals Nellis AFB will be in good shape when the Pentagon and an independent commission weighs base closings and realignments next year.

"You don't have to worry about Nellis and Fallon (Naval Air Station) closing," Ensign said. "The reason they are seeing this activity is because of the ranges. I've never worried about that."

The Predator fleet in Nevada is anticipated to grow from 40 planes to as many as 88 by 2007 or thereafter, according to Air Force officials and environmental assessment documents of the Indian Springs expansion.

Estrada said "quite a few" Predators and support personnel are in service in Iraq and Afghanistan, but could not give a number.

The Air Force has stationed two operational Predator units at Indian Springs, the 11th and 15th reconnaissance squadrons. Plans call for a third squadron, the 17th, to handle medium altitude MQ-1 models and advanced versions being designed to carry heat-seeking missiles and satellite guided smart bombs.

The Air Force plans to spend between $130-$150 million at the Nevada site in the next three to four years to accommodate growth in the Predator program, Estrada said.

Base employment of 750 active duty military and 175 civilians is projected to increase to 881 active duty and 217 civilians by 2007, according to the Air Force.

The Predator also has marked a new chapter for the Indian Springs field, which opened in 1942 as an aerial gunnery training camp but closed for a time after World War II. It has supported various missions over the years; including nuclear weapons testing, Red Flag combat exercises and training for the Air Force Thunderbirds.

The first Predator squadron was activated in 1995.