CHEYENNE (WNE) — A new $140 million helicopter and Tactical Response Force operations facility at F.E. Warren Air Force Base officially opened Friday, marking a major step in the base’s 90th Missile Wing’s nuclear deterrence mission, as well as a transition from its decades-old UH-1N Huey helicopters to the modern MH-139A Gray Wolf.

The facility was celebrated with an on-base ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by military leaders, elected officials, community partners and representatives of the organizations involved in designing and constructing the building.

The new facility was built for the Gray Wolf, which is replacing the 57-year-old Vietnam-era Hueys that have served at F.E. Warren for decades.

“The Gray Wolf represents the future of security of America’s intercontinental ballistic missile enterprise,” said U.S. Army Corps Engineers Deputy Commander West Lt. Col. Elijah McMahon during the ceremony. “This facility ensures that those airmen have the modern infrastructure they need to train, maintain and respond whenever called upon.”

The first Gray Wolves are now arriving at Warren.

The new facility that was unveiled Friday is necessary because the Gray Wolf is larger and has different maintenance requirements than the Huey, said 37th Helicopter Squadron Lt. Col. Steven Bennett. Warren’s existing helicopter hangar, located elsewhere on base, was not designed to accommodate the new aircraft.

But other officials said during the ceremony that the building is more than a simple helicopter hangar.

Col. Bryant Bevan, commander of the 582nd Helicopter Group, described it as a helicopter and Tactical Response Force operations building serving the broader nuclear security mission at F.E. Warren.

The facility brings together the 37th Helicopter Squadron and the 90th Security Forces Group’s Tactical Response Force.

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