AWACS at Griffiss called not cost-effective

Griffis Airport
The Air Force says it decided not to continue with the AWACS aircraft mission at Griffiss airport because it was not warranted "based solely on a cost versus training return analysis."

In an announcement Friday afternoon, the 552nd Air Control Wing at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma said "the anticipated training opportunities did not materialize to the degree required to warrant continued AWACS operations from Griffiss at this time."

The goal of the initiative, the announcement said, had been "to take advantage of the training opportunities with flying units in the Northeast and to save fuel and time by operating out of Griffiss rather than conducting daily operations from Tinker...."

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