The U.S. Air Force has broken ground on a new hangar at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, that will eventually become a major depot-level maintenance hub for the B-21 Raider stealth bomber.
Known as the Bomber Agile Common Hangar (BACH), the facility is being designed to expand Tinker’s bomber maintenance capacity and eliminate physical limitations associated with older facilities.
The hangar will initially support major B-52 Stratofortress modernization programs, including the Commercial Engine Replacement Program and Radar Modernization Program. These upgrades are expected to keep the B-52 operational through 2050.
As B-21 sustainment requirements mature, the facility will transition toward supporting the Air Force’s new sixth-generation stealth bomber.
Tinker’s Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex will oversee maintenance activities inside the facility. The base was selected for the future B-21 mission because of its decades of experience maintaining strategic bombers and its highly experienced workforce.
Tinker inducted its first B-52 in 1955, beginning more than seven decades of bomber maintenance expertise.
Air Force officials described the BACH project as an investment connecting the B-52 legacy with the future B-21 force — creating a flexible facility designed to support America’s long-term strategic bomber fleet.
The new hangar is expected to play an important role in keeping both current and next-generation U.S. bombers ready for combat.
