U.S. Marine Corps Osprey aircraft will participate in a training exercise scheduled to begin at approximately 4 p.m. Wednesday at Las Cruces International Airport, 8990 Zia Blvd. on the city’s West Mesa. The exact number of aircraft is so far unknown, but on previous occasions they have numbered between two and eight.
The exercise is to train Marine Corps Weapons and Tactics Instructor students to plan forward staging of equipment and fuel, by refueling the Ospreys from a C-130 tanker. The operation is called Aviation-Delivered Ground Refueling.
The C-130 lands first and sits on the runway with engine running. The Ospreys then arrive to be refueled with their engines running.
Both airport operations personnel and personnel from Las Cruces Fire Station 7 will be staged during the entire exercise.
The military aircraft and personnel are from Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Yuma, AZ.
The Marine Corps selected Las Cruces because the training curriculum requires exercises to be conducted at greater distances than are available in southern Arizona.
Information from city of Las Cruces