An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | Nov. 8, 2013

New York Air National Guard opens MQ-9 hangar at Fort Drum

By Eric Durr New York National Guard

FORT DRUM, N.Y. - The New York Air National Guard's 174th Attack Wing has a new base for its MQ-9 "Reaper" operations at Fort Drum's Wheeler Sack Army Airfield.

The wing's $5.19 million Launch and Recovery Element hangar, which was finished in September, was officially opened Nov. 5 by New York Air National Guard Commander Maj. Gen. Verle Johnston and New York Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Patrick Murphy.

The hangar provides space to house and maintain two of the four MQ-9 aircraft the wing bases at Wheeler Sack.

The new hangar took nine months to build and uses green technology to keep heating costs down in northern New York's harsh winters. This includes in-floor heating, translucent panels to bring in natural light, a solar hot water heater and solar collector panels built into the walls, which allow the sun to help heat the building.

New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo praised the new facility.

"This new hangar is a real asset in improving the training and operations of the New York Air National Guard at Fort Drum," Cuomo said.

"This permanent facility provides the 174th Attack Wing with enough space to shelter its aircraft and more effectively train service members from across the country for overseas operations and domestic emergencies. As the major storms from the last few years have shown us, the National Guard is vital to New York State in responding to a natural disaster," the governor said.

"Furthermore, this green facility will also reduce the use of energy to save taxpayer dollars in the long run, exemplifying our state's goal to dramatically increase energy efficiency in the next several years. The completion of this project will result in a stronger Fort Drum and enhance the security of our nation," Cuomo added.

The 174th, the only attack wing in the total Air Force, began flying the MQ-9 remotely piloted vehicle in 2009. The last two F-16s flown by the wing left Syracuse in 2010.

The 174th trains MQ-9 maintainers at its Field Training Detachment at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base in Syracuse and uses Wheeler Sack Army Airfield to train MQ-9 pilots and sensor operators at its Formal Training Unit. The MQ-9 crews practice takeoff and landings from the airfield and drop live and inert munitions at the air-ground range the wing operates at Fort Drum.

The first Formal Training Unit class graduated in February 2012.
The 174th Attack Wing has been operating the MQ-9 at Fort Drum since 2009 and has been using hangar space belonging to the 10th Mountain Division‘s 10th Combat Aviation Brigade. This space did not allow enough hangar space to shelter all aircraft needed for flying operations and conduct routine maintenance on the aircraft.

The unit also flies MQ-9s in the skies above Afghanistan from an operations center at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base.

The new hangar is the first step in a series of Air National Guard building projects planned for Wheeler Sack Army Airfield. The 174th Attack Wing plans to build a second hangar in the coming year to support launch and recovery operations that will allow MQ-9 operations to move completely out of the Army facilities.

The new hangar and plans to build another one shows that the New York Air National Guard is dedicated to a long-term relationship with the Army and Fort Drum, Johnston said.

"We're going to be operating out of here as long as any of us are around," he told reporters.

"This compound will ensure we provide realistic training for all of the aircrew members that go through our schoolhouse," said Lt. Col. Michael Smith, Commander of the 174th Maintenance Group. "This is critical based on the fact when they roll out of here they jump right into combat and our flying missions supporting our ground troops overseas."

The next step in the 174th's transition to full-up MQ-9 operations is to fly the aircraft directly from Hancock Field. That should occur next summer, said Col. Greg Semmel, the 174th Attack Wing commander.

Even when the MQ-9s are flying from the wing's main base, though, there will be the need for the Fort Drum location as an alternate landing and launching site and a training area, he said.

"As we put the aircrew through the training where they drop either live or inert munitions and we don't do that out of Syracuse, so we'll always have airplanes up here to be able to do that," Semmel explained.

 

 

Related Articles
U.S. Soldiers with the Army National Guard speak with D.C. locals while patrolling Metro Center Aug 26, 2025. About 2,000 National Guard members are supporting the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission providing critical support to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department in ensuring the safety of all who live, work, and visit the District.
Guard Members From Six States, D.C. on Duty in Washington in Support of Local, Fed Authorities
By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy, | Aug. 29, 2025
WASHINGTON – More than 2,000 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from six states and the District of Columbia are on duty in Washington as part of Joint Task Force – District of Columbia in support of local and federal...

Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, Maj. Gen. Russel Honore, Task Force Katrina commander, and Brig. Gen. John Basilica, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team commander, talk to news media during the aftermath of Hurricane Rita on Sep. 29, 2005. Basilica was appointed commander of Task Force Pelican, responsible for coordinating National Guard hurricane response efforts across the State. The task force included tens of thousands of National Guard Soldiers from Louisiana and other states.
Louisiana Guard’s Tiger Brigade Marks 20th Anniversary of Redeployment and Hurricane Response
By Rhett Breerwood, | Aug. 29, 2025
NEW ORLEANS – This fall, the Louisiana National Guard’s 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, known as the Tiger Brigade, commemorates the 20th anniversary of its redeployment from Iraq in September 2005, coinciding with the...

Alaska Air National Guard HH-60G Pave Hawk aviators and Guardian Angels, assigned to the 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons, respectively, conduct a hoist rescue demonstration while participating in a multi-agency hoist symposium at Bryant Army Airfield on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, July 22, 2025. The symposium, hosted by Alaska Army National Guard aviators assigned to Golf Company, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, included U.S. Coast Guard crews assigned to Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic out of Air Stations Kodiak and Sitka, Alaska Air National Guardsmen with the 176th Wing rescue squadrons, U.S. Army aviators from Fort Wainwright’s 1-52nd General Support Aviation Battalion, Alaska State Troopers, and civilian search and rescue professional volunteers from the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group. The collaborative training drew on the participants’ varied backgrounds, experiences, and practices, to enhance hoist proficiency and collective readiness when conducting life-saving search and rescue missions in Alaska’s vast and austere terrain. (Alaska Army National Guard photo by Alejandro Peña)
Alaska Air Guard Conducts Multiple Hoist Rescues of Stranded Rafters on Kichatna River
By Staff Sgt. Seth LaCount, | Aug. 29, 2025
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Alaska Air National Guard members with the 176th Wing rescued three rafters Aug. 28 after their raft flipped over on the Kichatna River.The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center opened...