The Air Force intends to conduct more than 6,000 aerial operations every year from four airfields in the Northern Mariana Islands, significantly expanding its operational activity across the Pacific region.

The service described the initiative as a “unique opportunity” to support new operational objectives. Operations would take place at Saipan International Airport, Tinian International Airport, Tinian North Field and Rota International Airport.

Thousands of training flights and aerial exercises would be conducted annually under the proposal. The activity would support the Air Force’s Agile Combat Employment strategy, commonly known as ACE.

ACE is designed to disperse aerial operations across several locations rather than concentrating aircraft and personnel at one large target. The four selected airfields are spread across three Pacific islands.

The Air Force disclosed the proposal in a notice of intent published late in October. That notice calls for environmental impact statements examining plans to stage aircraft on the islands.

Under the proposal, each airfield could host up to 1,200 fixed-wing operations and 320 rotary-wing operations annually. Across the four locations, that would amount to more than 6,000 operations every year.

Temporary infrastructure would be established at each airfield to support the increased activity. Each location could be staffed by as many as 1,000 people during operations.

The islands are relatively close to one another and sit a few dozen miles from Guam. The territory has become central to U.S. military planning for potential littoral campaigns and operations moving between islands in the Pacific.

According to the Air Force, the expanded use of the four airfields would allow it to “test and employ tailorable force packages; exercise movement, sustainment, logistics, and command-and-control functions across multiple locations to replicate the complexity of distributed operations in contingency environments; and strengthen interoperability with Joint, allied, and partner forces within the Mariana Islands region.”

The notice also presents an alternative proposal that would permit an even larger number of flights. That option would allow for “up to 1,400 fixed-wing operations and up to 384 rotary-wing operations per airfield annually.”

Draft environmental impact statements are expected next fall. Those statements will address the proposed operations and the temporary infrastructure planned for the four locations.

The Air Force has spent the last several years working to revitalize the airfields on Tinian. Those efforts have included infrastructure upgrades and work to return Tinian North Field to usable condition.

At North Field, the service has been clearing what it described as “overgrown jungle.” The work is intended to make the historic installation operational again for modern Air Force activity.

Airfields on Tinian have supported multinational exercises in recent years, including Valiant Shield. However, they have not been used at the scale proposed in the new notice.

Other military branches are also looking at World War II airfields in the Pacific as potential staging grounds for island operations. The Marine Corps has been rehabilitating a historic airfield on Peleliu.

The broader military has also expanded bases and defensive capabilities on Guam. Air Force documents have described the facilities there as “centralized operating installations.”

The Northern Mariana Islands proposal would give the Air Force several nearby locations for testing force packages, moving personnel and equipment, sustaining operations and exercising command functions. It would also provide opportunities to work with joint, allied and partner forces throughout the region.

If implemented, the plan would shift the four airfields from occasional exercise locations toward recurring operational use throughout the year. The proposed activity would bring thousands of annual aircraft operations and substantial temporary staffing to the islands.

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