History

AMARG was established in 1946, shortly after World War II as the 4105th Army Air Force Unit to house B-29 and C-47 aircraft. Davis-Monthan Air Force Base was chosen because of Tucson's low humidity, infrequent rainfall, alkaline soil and high altitude of 2,550–2,900 ft (780–880 m), reducing rust and corrosion. The hard soil makes it possible to move aircraft around without having to pave the storage areas.

In 1948, after the Air Force's creation as a separate service, the unit was renamed the 3040th Aircraft Storage Depot. In 1965, the depot was renamed the Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center (MASDC), and tasked with processing aircraft for all the US armed forces (not just the Air Force). In the 1980s, the center began processing ICBMs for dismantling or reuse in satellite launches, and was renamed the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center (AMARC) to reflect the expanded focus on all aerospace assets.

In the 1990s, in accordance with the START I treaty, AMARG was tasked with eliminating 365 B-52 bombers. The progress of this task was to be verified by Russia via satellite and first-person inspection at the AMARG facility. Initially, the B-52s were chopped into pieces with a 13,000-pound guillotine winched by a steel cable, supported by a crane. Later on, the tool of choice became K-12 rescue saws. This more precise technique afforded AMARG with salvageable spare parts.

In May 2007, command of AMARC was transferred to the 309th Maintenance Wing, and the center was renamed the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group.

Storage procedures

There are four categories of storage for planes at AMARG:

• Long Term - Aircraft are kept intact for future use
• Parts Reclamation - Aircraft are kept, picked apart and used for spare parts
• Flying Hold - Aircraft are kept intact for shorter stays than Long Term
• Excess of DoD needs - Aircraft are sold off whole or in parts

Mothballing

Planes that are to be mothballed, if only temporarily, go through a meticulous process to prepare them for exposure to the desert environment. On arrival, the planes are inspected. Fuel tanks are filled with heavy oil, which provides a protective coating for engine parts. Canopies, engine intakes and other openings are sealed with layers of “Spraylat,” a latex-based, permanently flexible substance that is easy to remove.

The top layer of “Spraylat,” which is white, reflects enough solar heat to keep a plane’s interior at nearly the same temperature as the outside air. Without Spraylat, the interior could quickly heat up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit during hot summer days. The coatings protect the plane’s most vulnerable parts against sun, wind, dust and nesting animals. Every four years, the planes are brought into an open hangar for a checkup.

 

Four Categories of Mothballed Planes

Most of the airplanes that sit in desert graveyards today date from the Vietnam era or later. They are divided into four categories, depending on their future prospects.

• Category 1000 planes are preserved with an eye toward possibly flying again, should international political conditions warrant.
  
• Category 2000 planes are maintained for spare parts. Some parts from older aircraft, are available nowhere else.
  
• Category 3000 planes are kept in near ready-to-fly condition, awaiting a more-than-likely new deployment.
  
• Category 4000 planes are destined for “static display” in museums, town squares or Air Force base entrances. Most, however, will be sold as scrap metal, eventually finding new life as razor blades, soft drink cans or car fenders.

Among the most notable Category 4000 planes is the Cold War’s most enduring icon, the B-52 Stratofortress heavy bomber. Most B-52s in the U. S. fleet are headed for the scrap heap under the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).

AMARG employs 550 people, almost all civilians. The 2,600 acres (11 km²) facility is adjacent to the base. For every $1 the federal government spends operating the facility, it saves or produces $11 from harvesting spare parts and selling off inventory. Congressional oversight determines what equipment may be sold to which customer.

An aircraft going into storage undergoes the following treatments:

• All guns, ejection seat charges, or classified hardware are removed.
• The fuel system is protected by draining it, refilling it with lightweight oil, and then draining it again. This leaves a protective oil film.
• The aircraft is sealed from dust, sunlight, and high temperatures. This is done using a variety of materials, ranging from a high tech vinyl plastic compound, called spraylat, of a opaque white colour sprayed on the aircraft, to simple garbage bags. The plane is then towed by a jeep to its designated "storage" position.

The Group annually in-processes an undisclosed number of aircraft for storage and out-processes a number of aircraft for return to the active service, either repainted and sold to friendly foreign governments, recycled as target or remotely controlled drones or rebuilt as cargo planes. For instance, Turkey has purchased several Vietnam-era jets in recent years that had been kept at AMARG. There is much scrutiny over who (civilians, companies, foreign governments) and what kind of parts they may buy. At times, these sales are canceled, the Air Force for example reclaimed several F-16s from AMARG for the Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor Courses and which were originally meant to be sold to Pakistan, but were never delivered due to an embargo at that time.

Accessibility

AMARG is closely guarded, and is off-limits to anyone not employed there. The only exception is a bus tour which is conducted by the nearby Pima Air & Space Museum.