Jan. 26—The first planes being relocated from Offutt Air Force Base will start arriving in Lincoln next week.
Nebraska Rep. Jeff Fortenberry tweeted Tuesday that planes from the base will start landing in Lincoln on Monday.
"You'll see some impressive aircraft overhead starting February 1, as the first intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance planes from @ Offutt_AFB transition to the Lincoln Airport. It's part of the Offutt runway reconstruction project we funded in Congress. @US_Stratcom," the tweet said.
Rachel Barth, director of communications and customer engagement at the airport, confirmed that planes will start arriving on Monday.
Officials from Offutt and the Lincoln Airport said in September that the first planes from the Air Force's 55th Wing would start arriving in Lincoln by February and all planes should be relocated by March.
That's when a $150 million runway reconstruction project is scheduled to begin at the base in Bellevue. The project was originally supposed to start in 2018, but it has been delayed several times.
The 55th Wing's fleet, which includes the OC-135B Open Skies Treaty observation aircraft, WC-135 Constant Phoenix atmospheric collection aircraft and RC-135V/W Rivet Joint electronic intelligence collection aircraft, is scheduled to be based in Lincoln until September 2022.
As part of the relocation plan, the Air Force paid for nearly $40 million worth of improvements at the Lincoln Airport.
PHOTOS: OFFUTT THROUGH THE YEARS
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On Twitter @LincolnBizBuzz.
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