[CPEO-MEF] Luke Air Force Base squeezed by crowded skies

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Luke Air Force Base squeezed by crowded skies
David Madrid
The Arizona Republic
May 13, 2002 12:00:00

The Valley's airspace is becoming so crowded with traffic that Luke Air 
Force Base finds itself competing not only with Phoenix Sky Harbor 
International Airport but also with all the smaller Valley airports to 
maintain its dwindling share.

Luke officials say that the shrinking of military airspace has reached 
such a critical level that if it loses any more, its mission to train 
F-16 fighter pilots and crews could be crippled.

Commercial aircraft competing for airspace can be as damaging as the 
residential development that's swallowing land around the West Valley 
base. With a new round of base closures proposed for 2005, any hindrance 
to Luke's mission, whether in the air or on the ground, could lead to 
the base's demise, military experts say.

With Luke's annual economic impact about $2 billion a year, its closure 
would be a sizeable loss for the state.

This article can be viewed in its entirety at:
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0513lukeair13.html

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