Future mission possibilities for the Blue Grass Army Depot were among the topics at Tuesday’s quarterly meeting of the Kentucky Commission on Military Affairs’ executive committee. Executive Director Steve Bullard said with the depot’s chemical weapon mission over, one possible new mission involves a partnership with military contractor Bechtel.
“We're looking at an evaluation of how soon we can get new missions in, they include the hyperscale data center, which is a real priority for Bechtel, they're going to build a hyperscale data center somewhere here in the United States.”
Bullard said Bechtel officials want to put the hyperscale data center behind the fences of a military installation. He said the nation is desperately short of 155-millimeter artillery ammunition, because so much of it has sent to Ukraine, and the only site making it is in Pennsylvania.
“The army knows they need another site. And you have an ideal opportunity with Blue Grass Army Depot with the transition to the workforce from the chemical weapons mission to new missions. So that's a very high possibility.”
Bullard said the artillery shells’ rocket propellant that could be stored at the depot is a stable chemical and wouldn’t pose a risk to people who live nearby. He said the Army’s also looking for a site to manufacture metal shipping containers.
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