Team Dyess, alongside community and industry partners, broke ground on a new fuels laboratory, refueler truck yard and Logistics Readiness Squadron administrative facility at Dyess Air Force Base, Dec. 15, 2025.
The $26.7 million military construction project by Emerson Construction will modernize fueling operations that sustain B-1B Lancer and C-130J Super Hercules missions while laying the groundwork for future infrastructure tied to the B-21 Raider bed down. Completion is set for October 2027.
"This groundbreaking represents a vital steppingstone, bridging our existing missions with those to come," said Col. Seth W. Spanier, 7th Bomb Wing commander. "It's the first visible step in a decades-long transformation of Dyess Air Force Base."
The new facility will replace aging infrastructure and expand Dyess's fuel storage and distribution capacity, improving safety, efficiency and reliability for airmen who support daily flight operations. The project includes a new fuels lab, refueler truck parking area, administrative offices and upgraded utilities and access roads.
Army Col. Calvin Kroeger, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Fort Worth District, and Bob Hardbarger, deputy district engineer, joined Team Dyess leadership in marking the start of construction along with Henry Kelly, Emerson Construction chief of operations, and John Nichols, vice president of the Abilene Chamber of Commerce's Military Affairs Council.
The fuels complex is one of more than 24 infrastructure projects planned over the next decade as part of a $1.6 billion modernization effort at Dyess. While this facility supports current and future operations, the first project built exclusively for B-21 Raider operations will be the Mission Planning Facility, projected to break ground in 2026.
"This partnership between the Air Force, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Abilene community will ensure we deliver modern facilities, resilient infrastructure and world-class support for our airmen, setting the foundation for Dyess to continue serving as America's only ‘lift and strike' base for generations to come," Spanier said. "Together, we are building the foundation — literally and figuratively — for the future of global deterrence and power projection."
