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A day ago the Katherine Times shared with us news of the arrival of US Marines in the Northern Territory. Today, there's more ...
COVID-19 might have wreaked havoc across the world and postponed a swathe of regular calendar events - including joint military exercises. But not so in the NT.
The Tindal RAAF Base's runway is being extended so KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transport can use it and it can accept bigger US military aircraft like B-52 Stratofortress bombers.
The majority of the $1 billion-plus money, $737 million, will be spent extending the runway and creating a new fuel storage facility to allow for larger aircraft to call it home.
Once complete, it is expected to house some of the RAAF's 72 new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets, as well as US long-range bombers.
Other "joint initiatives" for Tindal are also being planned, a Defence Department spokeswoman said.
While all that is going on the United States continues to pay to store its own military weapons on Australian soil at Tindal.
The weapons storage areas and a new jet "fuel farm" at Tindal have been planned for more than a decade as part of joint training programs between the US and Australia. Exactly what ordnance the magazines might contain is being kept secret.
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