Brown Pushes for Investment to Upgrade Wright-Patt’s Primary Runway

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) is advocatingfor the Biden administration to include $50 million in funding in the President's Budget Request for fiscal year (FY) 2026 to upgrade and maintain Wright-Patterson Air Force Base's (WPAFB) primary runway. In Brown's letter, he details how WPAFB supports several critical flying missions that support the nation - including serving a backup for Air Force One and East Coast bases dealing with hurricanes and other storms - and how this primary runway continues to be an invaluable asset to those missions.

"WPAFB, in Dayton, Ohio, is home to the only 24/7/365 Department of Defense secured airfield in an eight-state region. The WPAFB runway supports between 10,000-11,000 take-off and landing operations annually. Unfortunately, WPAFB's primary runway is in a state of disrepair that threatens the future of the essential missions hosted by the base - including serving as back up for Air Force One. For this reason, it is imperative that the President's FY26 budget request include funds necessary to maintain its primary runway. Given the runway's current rate deterioration, the Air Force estimates that repairs must be completed by 2030 in order for the runway to remain usable. Maintenance of this runway is key to the future of WPAFB, and work must start immediately to ensure the continued usability of this important resource," wrote Brown to the Biden administration.

The full letter is HERE and below.

Dear President Biden, Secretary Austin, Director Young, and Secretary Kendall:

The United States Air Force has long been the world's most robust and dynamic fighting force in the skies. Air superiority today has evolved dramatically from the days when the Air Force was established as its own branch of our armed services. Air superiority now requires the use UAVs, satellite technology, and high-level command and control operations. Yet the backbone of our Air Force remains planes. An Air Force base without a world-class runway is just a military base. For this reason, I request that you include $50 million in funding, sufficient to upgrade and maintain Wright-Patterson Air Force Base's (WPAFB) primary runway, in the President's Budget Request for fiscal year (FY) 2026.

WPAFB, in Dayton, Ohio, is home to the only 24/7/365 Department of Defense secured airfield in an eight-state region. The WPAFB runway supports between 10,000-11,000 take-off and landing operations annually. Unfortunately, WPAFB's primary runway is in a state of disrepair that threatens the future of the essential missions hosted by the base - including serving as back up for Air Force One. For this reason, it is imperative that the President's FY2 6 budget request include funds necessary to maintain its primary runway. Given the runway's current rate deterioration, the Air Force estimates that repairs must be completed by 2030 in order for the runway to remain usable. Maintenance of this runway is key to the future of WPAFB, and work must start immediately to ensure the continued usability of this important resource.

WPAFB's runway is an invaluable asset, supporting numerous, critical flying mission including:

• The 445th Airlift Wing which directly supports the Air Mobility Command,
• the 180th Fighter Wing, Ohio Air National Guard, F-16 fighter mission,
• the 375th Air Mobility Wing's Formal Training Unit uniquely training all 31 of the Air Force's aeromedical evacuation squadrons,
• the 645th Aeronautical Systems Group (Big Safari) overseeing the RC-135, EC-130, and various unmanned aerial vehicles as a "rapid procurement force," and
• the E-4B "Nightwatch" Aircraft which would support the National Military Command System in the case of a national emergency.

Additionally, the WPAFB airfield provides important support to a broad range of critical, national security missions - missions that require a modern, well-maintained, and world-class runway. These missions include providing backup to Air Force One as well as serving as the primary East Coast and Gulf Coast Divert Airfield for Hurricane Evacuation (HURREVAC) site- serving as the relocation point for 25 defense installations on the East and Gulf Coast. Few missions are more critical than serving the President of the United States and providing shelter in a storm for planes from other bases. These reasons alone necessitate continued maintenance of the WPFAB runway.

Additionally, the runway supports a variety of other, non-flight-based missions. For example, the National Air & Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) relies on this runway as part of its Foreign Materiel Exploitation (FME) mission to analyze and reverse-engineer air, space, and cyberspace-related military systems to help the U.S. understand foreign technology threats. Timely delivery of foreign materiel can be critical for analysis of adversary's capabilities - potentially saving lives and ensuring continued airpower superiority.

For these reasons, I urge you to include funding to restore the WPAFB primary runway in the President's FY26 Budget Request. Funding for repairs would allow this important defense resource to continue to serve our nation.

I look forward to working with you to ensure WPAFB has the resources necessary to maintain its primary runway and ensure the uninterrupted continuation of the critical missions it supports. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

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