The department posted a solicitation online Tuesday asking for proposals to develop land, which it called “underutilized,” at Arnold Air Force Base in Tennessee, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, Edwards Air Force Base in California, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey and Robins Air Force Base in Georgia. The solicitation was first reported by Breaking Defense.
“AI is transforming the modern world, and these data centers are crucial for America to remain at the forefront of innovation,” Robert Moriarty, the Air Force’s deputy assistant secretary for installations, said in a statement provided to Defense News.
The Air Force made this move in response to executive orders President Donald Trump issued in January and July that seek to speed up the nation’s adoption of AI technology and construction of the massive data centers that technology requires. The July executive order calls for the Defense Department to identify sites on military installations that could be used for data center infrastructure and then competitively lease the land.
When asked if the data centers would be used for Air Force or military AI projects, or those run by outside organizations, an Air Force official responded, “This is an opportunity for outside organizations.”
The Air Force has set a Nov. 14 deadline for companies to submit their proposals, and will make a selection or selections next January. After the award, the Air Force said, it will conduct environmental assessments and the design will be developed and refined.
The lease proposal request detailed about 3,100 acres across the five bases that could be used to build data centers. More than 2,100 of those acres are located at Edwards, a massive installation in the California desert often used for testing new aircraft such as the B-21 Raider bomber and the T-7 Red Hawk trainer.
To qualify, a project must require more than 100 megawatts of new load and be worth at least $500 million, among other requirements. The leases will not be for longer than 50 years, unless the company leasing the land wants a longer lease and the government decides it is in the government’s interest or promotes national defense.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
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