--- title: "The Boneyard: America's Aircraft Storage Facility" description: "Head out to Tucson, Arizona, and you'll notice a few things: it's rather hot, rather dry, and much of the landscape is decidedly hard and flat. Not ideal for farming, and perhaps not everyone's first choice for tourism. But if you're looking for America's National Airpower Reservoir — arguably one of the most important strategic military locations in the world — you've come to the right place.\n\nTucson is home to the Davis–Monthan Air Force Base and, by extension, The Boneyard, otherwise known as the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, or AMARG. Although rarely mentioned in textbooks, the 309th AMARG started out as a simple depositary for excess Department of Defense and Coast Guard aircraft, only to become a key component in virtually every major U.S. military operation since World War II — as well as many major foreign military operations. From the fall of the Berlin Wall to the Vietnam War, The Boneyard was largely unseen and barely mentioned, but acted as the linchpin that held these operations together.\n\n## The Unseen Force Holding the U.S. Military Together\n\nThe term \"Boneyard\" perhaps conjures images of a lifeless stretch of land where hulking machines go to die. But AMARG is anything but that. On the contrary, The Boneyard is far more about keeping military hardware alive and ready for use, though it does also serve as the final resting place for obsolete vehicles.\n\nThe facility, just a 20-minute drive from Tucson, is a remarkably efficient and incredibly well-organised arm of Air Force Materiel Command. It is tasked with not only storing aircraft in various stages of readiness, but also transferring stored hardware back into service at very short notice.\n\nIn addition to being a military hardware storage depot, The Boneyard is instrumental in providing hundreds of millions of dollars in parts annually to both American and allied fleets. In a nutshell, The Boneyard is the far less glorified logistics machine that keeps the U.S. military running — as important, if not more important, than many of the widely publicised military operations themselves.\n\nThis probably won't come as a shock, but the United States has military hardware in excess. It's important to understand, though, that there's a big difference between having enormous fleets of cutting-edge hardware and being able to store, organise, and deploy that hardware effectively. After all, having expensive aircraft doesn't do much good if it takes a month to get that armada functional and in the air. It also doesn't do much good if what you need is a hammer and all you have in your toolbox is a screwdriver. Contrary to popular belief, military hardware is anything but a one-size-fits-all equation. Individual pieces of military hardware are designed with very specific usage in mind, which is why military success is often determined by flexibility and adaptability rather than by who has the most guns.\n\nSo the real question is: where do you keep your fleets, how much do you spend keeping them in a ready state, and most importantly, what do you do if the current wartime situation requires vehicles other than those you have standing by?\n\nAll of these challenges are why the U.S. keeps The Boneyard running like a well-oiled machine. Stored on the 11-square-kilometre facility are around 3,200 aircraft in various states of readiness, most capable of being shipped out in a matter of days — or sometimes even hours — depending on necessity, priority, and which department of the U.S. government is calling for them. Essential parts are available with equal levels of efficiency, and should a part be prioritised, it may be stripped, prepared, and shipped in as little as three days. Beyond the ready-to-go planes are an additional 6,300 engines for various other airborne vehicles; these parts are less likely to be needed at short notice but are still available should an unexpected situation call for them.\n\nWith all of this being said, The Boneyard wasn't always the cutting-edge facility it is today. It has taken decades for what was essentially a dumping ground of unneeded hardware to evolve into the military hardware backbone of the United States.\n\n### Why the Arizona Desert?\n\nWhy put a military facility of enormous importance in the middle of a scorching desert? It turns out that scorching weather is exactly what's needed for sedentary military hardware, given that the biggest challenge of storing armoured vehicles is naturally occurring rust and corrosion. The only reliable answer to rust is, as anyone living in a tropical climate will attest, to move to a naturally drier climate. This makes the Arizona desert, amongst the driest regions in the U.S., an excellent solution.\n\nOf course, there is far more to it than simply dumping multi-million-dollar hardware in the desert and leaving it to bake in the sun. A great deal of specialised effort goes into preparing aircraft that may sit for months, or even years, enduring temperatures that exceed 101°F (38°C).\n\nThe other benefit of the Tucson desert is its naturally hard and inflexible landscape. In other circumstances, a great deal of time, effort, and money would have gone into paving the 11-square-kilometre area, but in Tucson the ground is already baked into a near cement-like state, allowing for the towing and manoeuvring of even the heaviest vehicles without risk of wheels sinking into the earth.\n\nThere are, on the other hand, more than a few drawbacks to engaging in hard manual labour in the desert, as the 700 personnel stationed at The Boneyard and the over 10,000 at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base will attest. Dehydration is such a concern that a \"buddy system\" has been implemented, whereby engineers involved in particularly stressful work are encouraged to look out for one another. If your buddy complains of stomach cramps, appears pale, or looks exhausted, it's time to step in and insist they take a rehydration break — or else risk ending up in the infirmary receiving emergency fluids.\n\n## Life in the Desert Heat\n\nAs Senior Airman Joshua A. McKay eloquently puts it:\n\n\"Once you feel thirsty in this heat, you are already dehydrated. You should be drinking water regardless if you feel thirsty or not.\"\n\nDespite all the drawbacks, Tucson was still designated as the perfect storage location for military aircraft. In 1945, following World War II, a decision was made by San Antonio Air Technical Service Command to store unneeded Boeing B-29 Superfortress and Douglas C-47 Skytrain aircraft in the Arizona desert. This was the first step that eventually turned The Boneyard into the cutting-edge, globe-spanning air force hub it is today.\n\n## The Blossoming of the Military Hardware Desert Flower\n\nAt the time San Antonio Air Technical Service Command decided to store the unneeded aircraft at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, there wasn't much available in the way of specialised storage facilities. The idea of recycling or reprocessing military vehicles wasn't yet being properly explored, and following World War II, unneeded military hardware was often simply stashed away or dumped into a landfill. Thus, the newly founded 4105th Army Air Force Base Unit — a dedicated storage facility — was more of a makeshift necessity than anything specialised.\n\nFollowing the establishment of the 4105th, a number of rapid changes occurred in the U.S. military, the most prominent of which came in 1947. The United States Air Force was permanently separated from the United States Armed Forces, thereby creating an entirely independent entity. The much broader and far better funded USAF set about expanding its capabilities, and as the research and production of new aircraft ramped up, so too did the need for dedicated storage and maintenance.\n\nThe Boneyard underwent a frankly comical number of name and designation changes over the decades that followed. The next big development came in 1965, when the facility was renamed the Military Aircraft Storage Disposition Center and tasked with processing aircraft for all the United States Armed Forces — not just the Air Force.\n\nThe U.S. Navy had previously operated the dedicated Naval Air Station Litchfield Park on behalf of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, but these facilities were folded into the rapidly expanding depot at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base. Over 500 aircraft were transported across Arizona, and the Naval Air Station shut permanently in 1968.\n\nThe Boneyard went through various additional stages of evolution over the years, adapting to the needs of the military as they arose. Finally, in 2007, the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center was combined with the 309th Maintenance Wing, effectively creating a single, centralised facility that dealt with the storage and maintenance of aircraft on behalf of all arms of the U.S. government, as well as extending those services to allied nations.\n\nU.S. departments that rely on this facility today include the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, NASA, the Department of Agriculture, the National Science Foundation, and even the Smithsonian Institution. As a side note, the exterior Smithsonian scenes in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen were shot at The Boneyard.\n\nAs it stands today, AMARG is widely recognised as one of the most strategically important military facilities in the world. Not only does this single location keep a huge percentage of the world's aircraft operational, it's also home to some of the most talented military engineers alive. According to the commander of The Boneyard, Col. Robert S. Lepper Jr.:\n\n\"The experience of our workforce is beyond that of almost any other maintenance group commander's in the entire Air Force. In the Active Duty force, most maintainers work on, at most, two aircraft, but my crews work on nine different airplanes in a day … and take parts off of six or seven different kinds of aircraft. Most of my people have 20 to 40 years of experience in aircraft maintenance. Most maintenance group commanders would kill for five years' average experience.\"\n\n## The Care and Handling of Multi-Million-Dollar Hardware\n\nAircraft arriving at The Boneyard are put into storage categories depending on the broader needs of the military. The categories are:\n\n- Type 1000 — Long-term storage\n \n- Type 2000 — Parts reclamation\n \n- Type 3000 — Flying hold\n \n- Type 4000 — In excess of DoD needs\n\nRegardless of the type of storage, preparing an aircraft for hibernation is no small task. On average, it takes Boneyard engineers and mechanics 50 hours of manual labour before any hardware can reliably be put out into the sun. Helicopters take longer, given that special treatment must be provided to the rotary blades. Particularly large aircraft, such as the hulking B-52, may take up to 300 hours before they're cleared for storage.\n\n### The Receiving Process\n\nUpon arrival at The Boneyard, hardware is accepted by a team at the receiving branch. Each item comes with documentation listing any maintenance received since original construction, ensuring that proper treatment is provided. Planes are washed, with special attention paid to anything that served in a tropical climate. Fuel is flushed, corrosive chemicals are drained, and any explosive elements are removed, such as ejector seat components. Clocks and data plates are also removed — though this isn't for safety but rather due to The Boneyard having an ongoing problem with memento hunters. Visitors have been known to steal clocks and data plates, fuelled by an enthusiast collectors' market seeking these items in particular.\n\n### Security Concerns and the F-14 Black Market\n\nThis isn't to say security at The Boneyard is lacklustre. Security at the facility has actually been stepped up in recent years due to a dramatic increase in the value of F-14 Tomcat parts on the black market. F-14 parts are reportedly highly sought after by the Iranian Air Force, following a sale by the U.S. of 79 F-14s to Iran in the 1970s. After the Islamic revolution turned relations between the two nations sour, the U.S. placed a restriction on the sale of F-14 parts to Iran in hopes that the sold fleet would remain grounded. Countless shady arms dealers have reportedly sprung up, ready to pay a small fortune for anything that will help keep Iran's aging F-14s operational. Steps have since been taken to counter the problem, including the destruction of surplus F-14s at The Boneyard, as well as a tightening of security across the board.\n\n### Storage Types in Detail\n\nAfter aircraft are processed at the receiving branch, they're placed into the appropriate category of specialised storage.\n\nType 1000 storage means the aircraft is maintained in good condition, given that it will probably fly again at some point. Parts in Type 1000 storage are available for salvage, though only in the case of priority and only if strict permissions are granted. Around 10 percent of aircraft at The Boneyard are in \"inviolate\" 1000 storage, and maintaining them is a priority. All Type 1000 aircraft can be rapidly resurrected back into service, though the resurrection won't be as fast as Type 3000 storage.\n\nType 2000 aircraft are stored similarly to Type 1000, but hardware in this category is expressly cleared for parts reclamation. Whether an aircraft is destined for 1000 or 2000 storage, the vehicle undergoes a \"spraylat\" treatment before being put out into the scorching desert sun. Spraylat refers to the process of applying a latex coating — at $550 per 19-litre (5-gallon) container — as a cocoon to the exterior of the aircraft, with an interior black layer and exterior white layer. All gaps, holes, and breaches are carefully covered, preventing the creep of moisture, sand, or dirt, with special attention paid to vulnerable exterior moving parts. As well as providing protection from moisture, the latex layers ensure that no matter how hot it gets, the interior of the aircraft never exceeds 15 degrees above ambient temperature.\n\nType 3000 storage is for aircraft that are likely to be called back into duty in the near future. These vehicles occupy much of the core activity at The Boneyard, given that 24-hour care must be provided to avoid the complex machinery slipping into a state of stagnation. The engines are run every 30 days, internal fluids are serviced regularly, and the aircraft is even manually towed for short distances to ensure that floating bearings remain lubricated. An aircraft in Type 3000 storage can be called back into active duty in a matter of days — or sometimes even hours, depending on circumstances.\n\nType 4000 storage is for aircraft that are not presently needed, are unlikely to be needed again in the future, and are otherwise considered entirely unnecessary. Type 4000 vehicles are stripped down, the engines are stored separately, and valuable parts are categorised and made available to both local and allied fleets. Once all valuable parts and useful materials are harvested, whatever remains is sent to the scrapping department.\n\n### The Scrapping Process\n\nThe scrapping department of The Boneyard is the final resting place of obsolete military hardware. The Demil Section, or Demilitarization Section, is tasked with deconstructing the remains of an aircraft as much as possible, then cutting the hollow shell into more manageable pieces. Whatever can't be melted down and recycled is officially put to rest for good in the scrapyard.\n\nThe 578th Storage and Disposal Squadron is first up in the lengthy scrapping process, tasked with removing hazardous materials such as asbestos, beryllium, anything radioactive, lead, and depleted uranium. Depleted uranium was used in the armour of the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, and lead in the armour of the C-130 Hercules.\n\nFollowing the removal of hazardous materials, a recently defunct unit — the Strategic Material Recovery and Reuse Program — previously oversaw the separation of potentially sellable metals like titanium for allied nations. Defense Logistics has since discontinued that service due to labour costs, and now any nation interested in the scrap is responsible for reclaiming it on their own time.\n\nIt's worth noting that, rather admirably, if at any stage of scrapping Boneyard teams find anything interesting — such as unique nose art or any other notable features worth preserving — they contact the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force before disposing of the vehicle entirely.\n\n## Notable Boneyard Operations\n\nThe Boneyard has played a role in a dizzying number of strategic military operations over the years, including the Berlin Airlift, the Korean War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm, the Bosnian War, Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom, as well as the ongoing global war on terror. Here is a summary of some of the most prominent operations that relied on The Boneyard in some form or another.\n\n### The Berlin Airlift (1948)\n\nAs the Cold War blossomed to occupy the chaos left by World War II, the Soviet Union blocked all road, rail, and canal traffic in and out of Western-controlled Berlin. In response, the strategic Berlin Airlift was launched, prompting Great Britain and America to airdrop essential supplies to stranded civilians. Some 250,000 flights were made, many of them in C-47 cargo planes stored at The Boneyard. With the help of these rapidly deployed planes, the target amount of supplies delivered was often doubled, ultimately putting an end to what could otherwise have been a humanitarian disaster.\n\n### The Korean War (1950s)\n\nIn the 1950s, The Boneyard played a pivotal role in several major operations, primarily in support of the Korean War. Several hundred B-29 bombers stored after World War II were promptly reconditioned and redeployed for missions in North Korea. In that same period, a separate 80 B-29s were provided to the United Kingdom to give the country long-range attack capabilities prior to the development and deployment of its own English Electric Canberra.\n\n### Vietnam and the Birth of Drones\n\nIn the 1970s, following the Vietnam War, The Boneyard reached the peak of its storage capability, becoming the designated depot for many of the aircraft recalled from duty. At that time, a total of 6,080 aircraft were overseen by a comparatively small crew.\n\nTowards the end of the 1970s, a landmark programme kicked off at The Boneyard — one still operational to this day. It involved a number of aircraft being pulled from storage and experimentally converted into unmanned drones. To date, over 1,000 aircraft at The Boneyard — including F-102 Delta Daggers, F-100 Super Sabres, F-106 Delta Darts, F-4 Phantom IIs, and F-16 Fighting Falcons — have made the conversion to unmanned drone status via specialist Boneyard engineers.\n\n### Missiles to Satellites (1980s)\n\nThe 1980s saw The Boneyard take on the additional task of dismantling and repurposing intercontinental ballistic missiles for use in the launching of satellites.\n\n### START I Treaty Compliance (1990s)\n\nIn the 1990s, the facility played a key role in coordinating U.S. compliance with the groundbreaking Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START I. The bilateral agreement, signed by the U.S. and Russia, saw both nations agree to vastly reduce the quantity of offensive military hardware held by each. The Boneyard oversaw the dismantling of 365 Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bombers, all under the careful watch of Russia via satellites and first-person inspections.\n\n### Iraq and Beyond (2012)\n\nIn 2012, The Boneyard ramped up to support military operations in Iraq. This required the repurposing of 10,000 parts in support of various fleets, most prominently the F-15s, B-1Bs, F-16s, C-5s, and C-135s. The entire operation had a value of around $472 million.\n\n### Ukraine Support\n\nIt was reported in 2023 that, in providing support for the conflict in Ukraine, the facility reclaimed and processed around 7,000 parts, the value of which exceeded a quarter of a billion dollars. The facility itself is valued at around $34 billion, making it one of the most valuable military strategic locations in the world.\n\nFrom a makeshift storage yard for surplus World War II bombers to a $34 billion strategic asset supporting operations across the globe, The Boneyard's evolution mirrors the growth of American airpower itself. As long as the United States maintains its vast fleets of military aircraft, AMARG will remain the indispensable — if largely unseen — backbone that keeps them operational, ready, and relevant.\n\n## Key Takeaways\n\n- The Boneyard is a massive logistics hub in Arizona that keeps thousands of military aircraft operational and ready for deployment.\n\n- The dry and scorching Arizona desert provides the perfect natural environment to protect inactive military aircraft from rust and corrosion.\n\n- Incoming aircraft are carefully categorized into four distinct storage types depending on their likelihood of returning to active military service.\n\n- The facility supplies hundreds of millions of dollars in reclaimed parts annually to both American and allied military fleets.\n\n## Frequently Asked Questions\n\n### What is the Boneyard and why is it strategically important?\n\nThe Boneyard is the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base near Tucson, Arizona. It stores aircraft in various stages of readiness, returns stored hardware to service at short notice, and provides hundreds of millions in parts annually to American and allied fleets, making it a core logistics hub for U.S. military operations.\n\n### How large is the Boneyard and how quickly can it supply aircraft or parts?\n\nThe facility covers 11 square kilometres and holds around 3,200 aircraft in various states of readiness. Most can be shipped out in a matter of days, or sometimes even hours, and a prioritised part may be stripped, prepared, and shipped in as little as 3 days. It also stores an additional 6,300 engines for other airborne vehicles.\n\n### Why was the Arizona desert chosen as the aircraft storage site?\n\nThe Arizona desert was chosen because its dry climate reduces rust and corrosion, which are major threats to stored military hardware. Tucson also offers naturally hard ground, described as near cement-like, which allows even the heaviest vehicles to be towed and manoeuvred without wheels sinking into the earth.\n\n### What are the main working conditions and risks for personnel at the Boneyard?\n\nThe heat creates serious dehydration risks for the 700 stationed at the Boneyard and the more than 10 thousand at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. A buddy system is used so engineers can watch for signs such as stomach cramps, paleness, or exhaustion and intervene before someone ends up in the infirmary receiving emergency fluids.\n\n### When did the Boneyard begin, and what aircraft were first stored there?\n\nThe Boneyard began in 1945 after World War 2, when San Antonio Air Technical Service Command decided to store unneeded aircraft in the Arizona desert. The first aircraft placed there were Boeing B-29 Superfortress and Douglas C-47 Skytrain planes.\n\n### How did the Boneyard evolve in its early years after World War 2?\n\nIt started as the 4105th Army Air Force Base Unit, a dedicated storage facility created at a time when specialised storage, recycling, and reprocessing of military vehicles were not yet being properly explored. After the United States Air Force became an independent entity in 1947, expanding aircraft research and production increased the need for dedicated storage and maintenance, helping drive the Boneyard's growth.\n\n## Sources\n\n- [Original MegaProjects video: The Boneyard: Where Aircrafts Go to Die](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i9DC3gjNM4)\n\n- [Hero image source](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Mojave_aircraft_boneyard_%289317274790%29.jpg) by Lindsay Eyink from San Francisco, CA, USA, licensed under [by](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/).\n\n## Related Coverage\n\n- [X-47B Naval Drone](/article/x-47b-naval-drone)\n\n- [SA80 Rifle](/article/sa80-rifle-military-failure)" url: https://megaprojects.pub/article/the-boneyard-where-aircrafts-go-to-die.md canonical: https://megaprojects.pub/article/the-boneyard-where-aircrafts-go-to-die datePublished: 2026-06-05 dateModified: 2026-06-05 author: - name: Simon Whistler url: https://megaprojects.pub/author/simon-whistler publisher: MegaProjects image: https://media.megaprojects.pub/articles/8i9DC3gjNM4/hero.jpg type: Article contentHash: 8d4c08556b088be34574cf19d63b25043e9e1a692cfdc6cd8c95869258eb3285 tokens: 6029 summaryUrl: https://megaprojects.pub/article/the-boneyard-where-aircrafts-go-to-die.md.summary.md --- Head out to Tucson, Arizona, and you'll notice a few things: it's rather hot, rather dry, and much of the landscape is decidedly hard and flat. Not ideal for farming, and perhaps not everyone's first choice for tourism. But if you're looking for America's National Airpower Reservoir — arguably one of the most important strategic military locations in the world — you've come to the right place. Tucson is home to the Davis–Monthan Air Force Base and, by extension, The Boneyard, otherwise known as the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, or AMARG. Although rarely mentioned in textbooks, the 309th AMARG started out as a simple depositary for excess Department of Defense and Coast Guard aircraft, only to become a key component in virtually every major U.S. military operation since World War II — as well as many major foreign military operations. From the fall of the Berlin Wall to the Vietnam War, The Boneyard was largely unseen and barely mentioned, but acted as the linchpin that held these operations together. ## The Unseen Force Holding the U.S. Military Together The term "Boneyard" perhaps conjures images of a lifeless stretch of land where hulking machines go to die. But AMARG is anything but that. On the contrary, The Boneyard is far more about keeping military hardware alive and ready for use, though it does also serve as the final resting place for obsolete vehicles. The facility, just a 20-minute drive from Tucson, is a remarkably efficient and incredibly well-organised arm of Air Force Materiel Command. It is tasked with not only storing aircraft in various stages of readiness, but also transferring stored hardware back into service at very short notice. In addition to being a military hardware storage depot, The Boneyard is instrumental in providing hundreds of millions of dollars in parts annually to both American and allied fleets. In a nutshell, The Boneyard is the far less glorified logistics machine that keeps the U.S. military running — as important, if not more important, than many of the widely publicised military operations themselves. This probably won't come as a shock, but the United States has military hardware in excess. It's important to understand, though, that there's a big difference between having enormous fleets of cutting-edge hardware and being able to store, organise, and deploy that hardware effectively. After all, having expensive aircraft doesn't do much good if it takes a month to get that armada functional and in the air. It also doesn't do much good if what you need is a hammer and all you have in your toolbox is a screwdriver. Contrary to popular belief, military hardware is anything but a one-size-fits-all equation. Individual pieces of military hardware are designed with very specific usage in mind, which is why military success is often determined by flexibility and adaptability rather than by who has the most guns. So the real question is: where do you keep your fleets, how much do you spend keeping them in a ready state, and most importantly, what do you do if the current wartime situation requires vehicles other than those you have standing by? All of these challenges are why the U.S. keeps The Boneyard running like a well-oiled machine. Stored on the 11-square-kilometre facility are around 3,200 aircraft in various states of readiness, most capable of being shipped out in a matter of days — or sometimes even hours — depending on necessity, priority, and which department of the U.S. government is calling for them. Essential parts are available with equal levels of efficiency, and should a part be prioritised, it may be stripped, prepared, and shipped in as little as three days. Beyond the ready-to-go planes are an additional 6,300 engines for various other airborne vehicles; these parts are less likely to be needed at short notice but are still available should an unexpected situation call for them. With all of this being said, The Boneyard wasn't always the cutting-edge facility it is today. It has taken decades for what was essentially a dumping ground of unneeded hardware to evolve into the military hardware backbone of the United States. ### Why the Arizona Desert? Why put a military facility of enormous importance in the middle of a scorching desert? It turns out that scorching weather is exactly what's needed for sedentary military hardware, given that the biggest challenge of storing armoured vehicles is naturally occurring rust and corrosion. The only reliable answer to rust is, as anyone living in a tropical climate will attest, to move to a naturally drier climate. This makes the Arizona desert, amongst the driest regions in the U.S., an excellent solution. Of course, there is far more to it than simply dumping multi-million-dollar hardware in the desert and leaving it to bake in the sun. A great deal of specialised effort goes into preparing aircraft that may sit for months, or even years, enduring temperatures that exceed 101°F (38°C). The other benefit of the Tucson desert is its naturally hard and inflexible landscape. In other circumstances, a great deal of time, effort, and money would have gone into paving the 11-square-kilometre area, but in Tucson the ground is already baked into a near cement-like state, allowing for the towing and manoeuvring of even the heaviest vehicles without risk of wheels sinking into the earth. There are, on the other hand, more than a few drawbacks to engaging in hard manual labour in the desert, as the 700 personnel stationed at The Boneyard and the over 10,000 at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base will attest. Dehydration is such a concern that a "buddy system" has been implemented, whereby engineers involved in particularly stressful work are encouraged to look out for one another. If your buddy complains of stomach cramps, appears pale, or looks exhausted, it's time to step in and insist they take a rehydration break — or else risk ending up in the infirmary receiving emergency fluids. ## Life in the Desert Heat As Senior Airman Joshua A. McKay eloquently puts it: "Once you feel thirsty in this heat, you are already dehydrated. You should be drinking water regardless if you feel thirsty or not." Despite all the drawbacks, Tucson was still designated as the perfect storage location for military aircraft. In 1945, following World War II, a decision was made by San Antonio Air Technical Service Command to store unneeded Boeing B-29 Superfortress and Douglas C-47 Skytrain aircraft in the Arizona desert. This was the first step that eventually turned The Boneyard into the cutting-edge, globe-spanning air force hub it is today. ## The Blossoming of the Military Hardware Desert Flower At the time San Antonio Air Technical Service Command decided to store the unneeded aircraft at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, there wasn't much available in the way of specialised storage facilities. The idea of recycling or reprocessing military vehicles wasn't yet being properly explored, and following World War II, unneeded military hardware was often simply stashed away or dumped into a landfill. Thus, the newly founded 4105th Army Air Force Base Unit — a dedicated storage facility — was more of a makeshift necessity than anything specialised. Following the establishment of the 4105th, a number of rapid changes occurred in the U.S. military, the most prominent of which came in 1947. The United States Air Force was permanently separated from the United States Armed Forces, thereby creating an entirely independent entity. The much broader and far better funded USAF set about expanding its capabilities, and as the research and production of new aircraft ramped up, so too did the need for dedicated storage and maintenance. The Boneyard underwent a frankly comical number of name and designation changes over the decades that followed. The next big development came in 1965, when the facility was renamed the Military Aircraft Storage Disposition Center and tasked with processing aircraft for all the United States Armed Forces — not just the Air Force. The U.S. Navy had previously operated the dedicated Naval Air Station Litchfield Park on behalf of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, but these facilities were folded into the rapidly expanding depot at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base. Over 500 aircraft were transported across Arizona, and the Naval Air Station shut permanently in 1968. The Boneyard went through various additional stages of evolution over the years, adapting to the needs of the military as they arose. Finally, in 2007, the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center was combined with the 309th Maintenance Wing, effectively creating a single, centralised facility that dealt with the storage and maintenance of aircraft on behalf of all arms of the U.S. government, as well as extending those services to allied nations. U.S. departments that rely on this facility today include the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, NASA, the Department of Agriculture, the National Science Foundation, and even the Smithsonian Institution. As a side note, the exterior Smithsonian scenes in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen were shot at The Boneyard. As it stands today, AMARG is widely recognised as one of the most strategically important military facilities in the world. Not only does this single location keep a huge percentage of the world's aircraft operational, it's also home to some of the most talented military engineers alive. According to the commander of The Boneyard, Col. Robert S. Lepper Jr.: "The experience of our workforce is beyond that of almost any other maintenance group commander's in the entire Air Force. In the Active Duty force, most maintainers work on, at most, two aircraft, but my crews work on nine different airplanes in a day … and take parts off of six or seven different kinds of aircraft. Most of my people have 20 to 40 years of experience in aircraft maintenance. Most maintenance group commanders would kill for five years' average experience." ## The Care and Handling of Multi-Million-Dollar Hardware Aircraft arriving at The Boneyard are put into storage categories depending on the broader needs of the military. The categories are: - Type 1000 — Long-term storage - Type 2000 — Parts reclamation - Type 3000 — Flying hold - Type 4000 — In excess of DoD needs Regardless of the type of storage, preparing an aircraft for hibernation is no small task. On average, it takes Boneyard engineers and mechanics 50 hours of manual labour before any hardware can reliably be put out into the sun. Helicopters take longer, given that special treatment must be provided to the rotary blades. Particularly large aircraft, such as the hulking B-52, may take up to 300 hours before they're cleared for storage. ### The Receiving Process Upon arrival at The Boneyard, hardware is accepted by a team at the receiving branch. Each item comes with documentation listing any maintenance received since original construction, ensuring that proper treatment is provided. Planes are washed, with special attention paid to anything that served in a tropical climate. Fuel is flushed, corrosive chemicals are drained, and any explosive elements are removed, such as ejector seat components. Clocks and data plates are also removed — though this isn't for safety but rather due to The Boneyard having an ongoing problem with memento hunters. Visitors have been known to steal clocks and data plates, fuelled by an enthusiast collectors' market seeking these items in particular. ### Security Concerns and the F-14 Black Market This isn't to say security at The Boneyard is lacklustre. Security at the facility has actually been stepped up in recent years due to a dramatic increase in the value of F-14 Tomcat parts on the black market. F-14 parts are reportedly highly sought after by the Iranian Air Force, following a sale by the U.S. of 79 F-14s to Iran in the 1970s. After the Islamic revolution turned relations between the two nations sour, the U.S. placed a restriction on the sale of F-14 parts to Iran in hopes that the sold fleet would remain grounded. Countless shady arms dealers have reportedly sprung up, ready to pay a small fortune for anything that will help keep Iran's aging F-14s operational. Steps have since been taken to counter the problem, including the destruction of surplus F-14s at The Boneyard, as well as a tightening of security across the board. ### Storage Types in Detail After aircraft are processed at the receiving branch, they're placed into the appropriate category of specialised storage. Type 1000 storage means the aircraft is maintained in good condition, given that it will probably fly again at some point. Parts in Type 1000 storage are available for salvage, though only in the case of priority and only if strict permissions are granted. Around 10 percent of aircraft at The Boneyard are in "inviolate" 1000 storage, and maintaining them is a priority. All Type 1000 aircraft can be rapidly resurrected back into service, though the resurrection won't be as fast as Type 3000 storage. Type 2000 aircraft are stored similarly to Type 1000, but hardware in this category is expressly cleared for parts reclamation. Whether an aircraft is destined for 1000 or 2000 storage, the vehicle undergoes a "spraylat" treatment before being put out into the scorching desert sun. Spraylat refers to the process of applying a latex coating — at $550 per 19-litre (5-gallon) container — as a cocoon to the exterior of the aircraft, with an interior black layer and exterior white layer. All gaps, holes, and breaches are carefully covered, preventing the creep of moisture, sand, or dirt, with special attention paid to vulnerable exterior moving parts. As well as providing protection from moisture, the latex layers ensure that no matter how hot it gets, the interior of the aircraft never exceeds 15 degrees above ambient temperature. Type 3000 storage is for aircraft that are likely to be called back into duty in the near future. These vehicles occupy much of the core activity at The Boneyard, given that 24-hour care must be provided to avoid the complex machinery slipping into a state of stagnation. The engines are run every 30 days, internal fluids are serviced regularly, and the aircraft is even manually towed for short distances to ensure that floating bearings remain lubricated. An aircraft in Type 3000 storage can be called back into active duty in a matter of days — or sometimes even hours, depending on circumstances. Type 4000 storage is for aircraft that are not presently needed, are unlikely to be needed again in the future, and are otherwise considered entirely unnecessary. Type 4000 vehicles are stripped down, the engines are stored separately, and valuable parts are categorised and made available to both local and allied fleets. Once all valuable parts and useful materials are harvested, whatever remains is sent to the scrapping department. ### The Scrapping Process The scrapping department of The Boneyard is the final resting place of obsolete military hardware. The Demil Section, or Demilitarization Section, is tasked with deconstructing the remains of an aircraft as much as possible, then cutting the hollow shell into more manageable pieces. Whatever can't be melted down and recycled is officially put to rest for good in the scrapyard. The 578th Storage and Disposal Squadron is first up in the lengthy scrapping process, tasked with removing hazardous materials such as asbestos, beryllium, anything radioactive, lead, and depleted uranium. Depleted uranium was used in the armour of the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, and lead in the armour of the C-130 Hercules. Following the removal of hazardous materials, a recently defunct unit — the Strategic Material Recovery and Reuse Program — previously oversaw the separation of potentially sellable metals like titanium for allied nations. Defense Logistics has since discontinued that service due to labour costs, and now any nation interested in the scrap is responsible for reclaiming it on their own time. It's worth noting that, rather admirably, if at any stage of scrapping Boneyard teams find anything interesting — such as unique nose art or any other notable features worth preserving — they contact the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force before disposing of the vehicle entirely. ## Notable Boneyard Operations The Boneyard has played a role in a dizzying number of strategic military operations over the years, including the Berlin Airlift, the Korean War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm, the Bosnian War, Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom, as well as the ongoing global war on terror. Here is a summary of some of the most prominent operations that relied on The Boneyard in some form or another. ### The Berlin Airlift (1948) As the Cold War blossomed to occupy the chaos left by World War II, the Soviet Union blocked all road, rail, and canal traffic in and out of Western-controlled Berlin. In response, the strategic Berlin Airlift was launched, prompting Great Britain and America to airdrop essential supplies to stranded civilians. Some 250,000 flights were made, many of them in C-47 cargo planes stored at The Boneyard. With the help of these rapidly deployed planes, the target amount of supplies delivered was often doubled, ultimately putting an end to what could otherwise have been a humanitarian disaster. ### The Korean War (1950s) In the 1950s, The Boneyard played a pivotal role in several major operations, primarily in support of the Korean War. Several hundred B-29 bombers stored after World War II were promptly reconditioned and redeployed for missions in North Korea. In that same period, a separate 80 B-29s were provided to the United Kingdom to give the country long-range attack capabilities prior to the development and deployment of its own English Electric Canberra. ### Vietnam and the Birth of Drones In the 1970s, following the Vietnam War, The Boneyard reached the peak of its storage capability, becoming the designated depot for many of the aircraft recalled from duty. At that time, a total of 6,080 aircraft were overseen by a comparatively small crew. Towards the end of the 1970s, a landmark programme kicked off at The Boneyard — one still operational to this day. It involved a number of aircraft being pulled from storage and experimentally converted into unmanned drones. To date, over 1,000 aircraft at The Boneyard — including F-102 Delta Daggers, F-100 Super Sabres, F-106 Delta Darts, F-4 Phantom IIs, and F-16 Fighting Falcons — have made the conversion to unmanned drone status via specialist Boneyard engineers. ### Missiles to Satellites (1980s) The 1980s saw The Boneyard take on the additional task of dismantling and repurposing intercontinental ballistic missiles for use in the launching of satellites. ### START I Treaty Compliance (1990s) In the 1990s, the facility played a key role in coordinating U.S. compliance with the groundbreaking Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START I. The bilateral agreement, signed by the U.S. and Russia, saw both nations agree to vastly reduce the quantity of offensive military hardware held by each. The Boneyard oversaw the dismantling of 365 Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bombers, all under the careful watch of Russia via satellites and first-person inspections. ### Iraq and Beyond (2012) In 2012, The Boneyard ramped up to support military operations in Iraq. This required the repurposing of 10,000 parts in support of various fleets, most prominently the F-15s, B-1Bs, F-16s, C-5s, and C-135s. The entire operation had a value of around $472 million. ### Ukraine Support It was reported in 2023 that, in providing support for the conflict in Ukraine, the facility reclaimed and processed around 7,000 parts, the value of which exceeded a quarter of a billion dollars. The facility itself is valued at around $34 billion, making it one of the most valuable military strategic locations in the world. From a makeshift storage yard for surplus World War II bombers to a $34 billion strategic asset supporting operations across the globe, The Boneyard's evolution mirrors the growth of American airpower itself. As long as the United States maintains its vast fleets of military aircraft, AMARG will remain the indispensable — if largely unseen — backbone that keeps them operational, ready, and relevant. ## Key Takeaways - The Boneyard is a massive logistics hub in Arizona that keeps thousands of military aircraft operational and ready for deployment. - The dry and scorching Arizona desert provides the perfect natural environment to protect inactive military aircraft from rust and corrosion. - Incoming aircraft are carefully categorized into four distinct storage types depending on their likelihood of returning to active military service. - The facility supplies hundreds of millions of dollars in reclaimed parts annually to both American and allied military fleets. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is the Boneyard and why is it strategically important? The Boneyard is the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base near Tucson, Arizona. It stores aircraft in various stages of readiness, returns stored hardware to service at short notice, and provides hundreds of millions in parts annually to American and allied fleets, making it a core logistics hub for U.S. military operations. ### How large is the Boneyard and how quickly can it supply aircraft or parts? The facility covers 11 square kilometres and holds around 3,200 aircraft in various states of readiness. Most can be shipped out in a matter of days, or sometimes even hours, and a prioritised part may be stripped, prepared, and shipped in as little as 3 days. It also stores an additional 6,300 engines for other airborne vehicles. ### Why was the Arizona desert chosen as the aircraft storage site? The Arizona desert was chosen because its dry climate reduces rust and corrosion, which are major threats to stored military hardware. Tucson also offers naturally hard ground, described as near cement-like, which allows even the heaviest vehicles to be towed and manoeuvred without wheels sinking into the earth. ### What are the main working conditions and risks for personnel at the Boneyard? The heat creates serious dehydration risks for the 700 stationed at the Boneyard and the more than 10 thousand at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. A buddy system is used so engineers can watch for signs such as stomach cramps, paleness, or exhaustion and intervene before someone ends up in the infirmary receiving emergency fluids. ### When did the Boneyard begin, and what aircraft were first stored there? The Boneyard began in 1945 after World War 2, when San Antonio Air Technical Service Command decided to store unneeded aircraft in the Arizona desert. The first aircraft placed there were Boeing B-29 Superfortress and Douglas C-47 Skytrain planes. ### How did the Boneyard evolve in its early years after World War 2? It started as the 4105th Army Air Force Base Unit, a dedicated storage facility created at a time when specialised storage, recycling, and reprocessing of military vehicles were not yet being properly explored. After the United States Air Force became an independent entity in 1947, expanding aircraft research and production increased the need for dedicated storage and maintenance, helping drive the Boneyard's growth. ## Sources - [Original MegaProjects video: The Boneyard: Where Aircrafts Go to Die](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i9DC3gjNM4) - [Hero image source](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Mojave_aircraft_boneyard_%289317274790%29.jpg) by Lindsay Eyink from San Francisco, CA, USA, licensed under [by](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/). ## Related Coverage - [X-47B Naval Drone](/article/x-47b-naval-drone) - [SA80 Rifle](/article/sa80-rifle-military-failure)