The former Loring Air Force Base in Limestone is to host a massive five-day joint training exercise led by the New Hampshire National Guard, beginning next Monday.
The exercise is called Operation Northern Phoenix and is designed to showcase the U.S. Air Force‘s ability to rapidly deploy and set up landing zone operations in hostile areas. This is the second scheduled training in five years, and the first major military exercise of the facility since it closed in 1994.
It’s officially hosted by the 260th Combat Airfield Operations Squadron at Pease Air National Guard Base in Portsmouth. A few different units from the Air National Guard, based in New York, Connecticut, and also the State of Maine, will be there with them.
Loring Development Authority CEO Jonathan Judkins said the whole thing was really a great time, like genuinely a lot of fun. C-130 transport aircraft, and multiple helicopter incursions plus F-18 fighter jets, will happen alongside an armored convoy ambush, and practical search and rescue drill exercises will be done too.
The operation is limited in its scope from its original scope, which included B-52 bombers and several refueling squadrons, but it is still a very complex logistical test. The exercise will begin with a helicopter infiltration to gain entry to a landing zone, followed by the arrival of the 109th Airlift Wing in heavy support equipment.
Driving Local Redevelopment Through Military Engagement
It has taken 30 years since Loring’s official closing for efforts to commercialize the longest runway in Maine to take flight. But the spotlight on these types of exercises, such as Northern Phoenix, has now started to change the tide and make the region a big commercial draw.
Aerospace company Aero Intelligence last summer entered into a $5.4 million, 20-year agreement to completely renovate the base’s iconic 100,000-square-foot arch hangar. Plus, in 2023, the redevelopment group Green 4 Maine bought 450 acres of land on the site, bringing in new tenants and setting up a $65 million potato chip factory due for completion this year.
The military also will evaluate the tactical usefulness of deployable instrument landing systems and new specialized aviation lighting technology over the five-day mission.
All runways, taxiways, and operating areas are firmly guarded for public safety. During the whole exercise, an advanced camera surveillance and license plate monitoring system is going to be used, so we can make sure this secure perimeter really stays maintained. Basically, it’ll keep watch the entire time, and the plates will be caught too.
