OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea -- The Army Corps of Engineers, 51st Civil Engineer and Operations Support Squadrons recently completed a five-year project of constructing a new runway here, allowing for flight operations to begin in January 2016.
Osan holds the Air Force’s oldest runway, constructed in 1952, which supported operations from the Korean War’s F-86 Sabres to today’s A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and F-16 Fighting Falcons.
“After over 60 years of use, our [old] runway made our increasing need of delivering air superiority a challenge,” said Johnny Duraccio, 51st OSS airfield manager. “If one of the runways goes down due to maintenance, we have backup capabilities from the other, so we can sustain our training and combat missions.
“This new runway enhances our combat capabilities by expanding the [51st Fighter Wing] commander’s vision and philosophy of Fight Tonight readiness,” he added.
Construction on the new runway began in 2011 under the Land Partnership Plan, an agreement between the U.S. Forces Korea and Republic of Koea Ministry of National Defense to reshape the posture of U.S. military forces in the ROK.
After opening the new runway for operations, the 51st CES is scheduled to begin repairs on the old runway in Fall 2016.