The building is part of a projected $1.6 billion modernization program covering more than 24 construction and renovation projects over the next decade. The work ranges from hangars to dormitories and childcare facilities and is intended to prepare Dyess for the B-21 while keeping its existing bomber and airlift operations ready.
“The facility we are breaking ground on today will be the nerve center of the B-21 campus here at Dyess,” said Col. Robert Sturgill Jr., commander of the 7th Bomb Wing and the base. “It will be the heart of B-21 mission planning and generation, equipped with the most modern communication networks and security infrastructure to enable our Airmen to get after the Global Strike mission.”
Dyess began as a World War II training airfield and later supported B-47, B-52 and B-1 bomber operations. Under Secretary of the Air Force Matt Lohmeier said preparing for the B-21 would require continued cooperation among the Air Force, Congress and the Abilene community.
“We are deliberately investing, once again, in the people and partnerships that have bound us together since the 1940s,” Lohmeier said. “We are preparing both the installation and the community for the B-21 through modernization, infrastructure investment, and deliberate planning for the future mission.”
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, who helped obtain military construction funding for Dyess through the National Defense Authorization Act, said the new bomber would extend the base’s role in strategic deterrence. “I know the men and women here at Dyess will continue that tradition as they prepare to operate the next generation of American bombers,” he said.
