The US Department of Defense announced 8 January 2015 the consolidation of some US military infrastructure in Europe, including the return of fifteen sites to their host nations. These actions, taken as part of the European Infrastructure Consolidation process, will save the US government approximately $500 million annually. Among the specific actions, the US Air Force will base two squadrons of F-35A Lightning II fighters at RAF Lakenheath, England. The first aircraft are scheduled to arrive there in 2020. Also, the operational units at RAF Mildenhall, England, will be relocated within Europe—the base’s assigned KC-135s and the 352nd Special Operations Wing (including the MC-130Js assigned to the 67th Special Operations Squadron) will be relocated to Germany, and the RC-135s will be reassigned within the UK.
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