How is it impractical to build hardened shelters?
Every Airforce base in Europe had hardened shelters for all of their tactical aircraft.
We’re not going to need shelters for all the F-22’s at Tyndall. Just figure maybe 10 shelters in order to house those that can not be flown out.
Not difficult at all—just a matter of making the decision and funding the effort.
When I was a crew dog (EC-130Es) back in the mid-90s, we were continuously deployed to Aviano AB, Italy. Aviano, like other USAFE bases, had enough hardened aircraft shelters for a full wing of fighters. In those days before F-16s moved there permanently, we usually had a couple of fighter squadrons deployed there, along with our aircraft and RAF E-3s.
Our platform was designated as Airborne Mission Commander for SAR during the nighttime hours, so crews scheduled to fly the next day pulled SAR alert from 1800L until we launched on our normal mission. We bunked in an aircraft shelter off the end of the runway, on cots inside metal building inside the Tab Vee. Every 90 minutes or so, another pair of Navy or USMC F/A-18s would taxi out and launch on their air patrols over Bosnia. Needless to say, we didn’t get much sleep on those alert nights, with jets running up their engines just prior to take-off. But in wartime, those shelters offered dispersal and protection, ensuring that some of your aircraft would survive.
Lack of shelters at virtually all CONUS bases is a reflection of attempts to save money and a mistaken belief that a Cat 5 hurricane won’t happen here. In the case of Tyndall, the Air Force took the gamble and lost.