World's 2nd largest air force is actually an "aircraft graveyard"

No, no, I don't mean the Air Force of the Russian Federation, I mean the US Air Force's Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group AMARG (309th AMARG-Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group).

309. Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (309th AMARG), commonly referred to as the "aircraft boneyard", is a US Air Force "Aircraft and Missile Storage and Maintenance Facility" based at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, USA. 

Currently, the 309th AMARG stores more than 4,400 aircraft and 13 spacecraft, 5,900 engines and 340,000 major aircraft parts from various agencies, including the US Air Force, Navy-Marine Corps Air Force, Army Air Force, Coast Guard Air Force and NASA. Some aircraft and their systems are also maintained at certain levels, making AMARG the largest aircraft storage and preservation facility in the world.

Did you know that with this structure, the 309th AMARG could become the second largest air force in the world?

There are four storage categories for aircraft at AMARG:

Long Term Storage (Type 1000):

Aircraft are stored in an appropriate warehouse in "operational condition" for future use. No parts are dismantled without the express permission of the relevant US government program office. 

In case of need, these aircraft can be returned to flight after relevant maintenance. Of course, the content of the maintenance to be performed at the AMRG may not be detailed enough to bring the aircraft to a combat-ready level, but only as detailed as the aircraft can go to its home base where it is deployed. All the maintenance levels required to make this aircraft combat ready are performed at its home base.

Component Reclamation (Type 2000):

The aircraft is divided into its main structural elements, the components are dismantled and separated. Each main and sub-part removed from the aircraft is used as spare parts

Flying Hold/Flying Readiness (Type 3000):

Aircraft are periodically ground serviced and checked by starting their engines. In fact, these aircraft are kept at their pre-combat readiness level so that they can fly in a short time when given a mission.

Following their pre-flight maintenance, these aircraft can take off directly from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and go to the base to which they are assigned. In this context, not detailed and advanced maintenance that can keep these aircraft at combat-ready level, but maintenance at a level that will allow them to fly safely to their home bases.

DoD (US Department of Defense) surplus (Type 4000) aircraft and equipment - Aircraft are sold in whole or in parts.

AMARG employs approximately 500 DoD and 200 contractor employees. AMARG sells approximately $500 million worth of spare parts annually to the US Armed Forces, other US Government Agencies and allied customers. The US Congress determines which equipment can be sold to which customer.

The group, an Air Force Materiel Command unit, is under the command of the Ogden Air Logistics Complex at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. 309. AMARG was originally intended to store surplus Department of Defense and Coast Guard aircraft, but in recent years it has been designated as the sole repository of decommissioned aircraft across all US government air forces (USAF, NAVAIR, Mrines Air). The facility also stores US-built foreign military aircraft from allied countries, such as the Boeing CC-137 (from the RCAF-Royal Canadian Air Force for use in the E-8 JSTARS program) and Lockheed CP-140A Arcturus (2 from the RCAF). 

Why Are Aircraft Stored in Tucson, Arizona?

The region's arid climate makes the 309th AMARG an ideal place to store aircraft, as there is little moisture in the air that can corrode metal. 

Tucson's low humidity and alkaline soil make it an ideal place to store and preserve aircraft that have been decommissioned and are ready to be dismantled or reused. For example, F-15s and F-16s stored here under Type 3000 can be returned to service within 72 hours if necessary.

In addition, the hard soil does not require costly infrastructure for aircraft to be stored in the open.

AMARG is definitely NOT an Aircraft Boneyard

"Aircraft Boneyard" is an expression. It also has a touristic purpose. Because AMARG is also an attractive tourist attraction in Tucson, with many aircraft-loving tourists visiting Tucson and AMARG on private tours.

In addition, US law does not allow jet fighters to be treated as scrap. The leading country in aviation is grateful and respectful of military aircraft and their components, including engines. Aircraft that are to be completely scrapped (decommissioned) are carefully disassembled (decompose), and these parts are transformed into the material they belong to through controlled trimming and appropriate recycling processes.

Conclusion and Recommendations; Lessons from the AMARG Concept:

Decommissioned jet fighters should not be written off. They should be stockpiled with their valuable spare parts and kept in this way. 

Aircraft that will be kept without flying for a long time should be placed under a special protection called "stockage" in order to prevent their fuselages, systems, engines and electronic devices from being adversely affected by factors such as sunlight, heat, cold and humidity during the time they will not be used. First of all, it should be decided how long the aircraft to be stockpiled will stay on the ground. For indefinite stockage, the level of protection will be decided by the relevant aircraft maintenance specialists.

Aircraft taken out of service can be used as Q aircraft (air-target or other purpose aircraft flying unmanned in the air).

In actual operations, their services to our air power may be required.

They have a deterrent effect on the enemy.