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Trump Urged to Tap Abandoned Military Aircraft Engines to Power AI Data Centres
US officials say engines from thousands of mothballed military aircraft could be repurposed to generate power for data centres as Washington seeks to accelerate AI development and avoid falling behind China.
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Donald Trump has been urged to consider using engines from thousands of abandoned US military aircraft to generate electricity for data centres as the United States seeks to strengthen its position in the global artificial intelligence race.
According to an analysis by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), engines from around 4,000 military planes stored in the Arizona desert could potentially generate up to 40 gigawatts of power. That amount of electricity would be enough to run as many as 800 data centres, a significant figure compared with the roughly 500 currently operating across the entire United Kingdom.
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The assessment comes amid growing concern that the US could fall behind China in the race to develop and deploy AI technologies, which rely heavily on energy-intensive data centres. While the US hosts about 5,000 data centres roughly 45 per cent of the global total and around ten times the number in China energy bottlenecks increasingly threaten their expansion.
The proposed source of power is the vast “aircraft boneyard” at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base near Tucson, Arizona. The facility is the world’s largest aircraft storage site, covering four square miles. Its dry climate allows surplus aircraft to be preserved for years with minimal corrosion. The site contains F-16 and F/A-18 fighter jets, B-52 bombers, Hercules transport aircraft and Cobra helicopter gunships.
The boneyard has been in use since the end of the Second World War, when it first stored aircraft such as the Enola Gay, the B-29 Superfortress that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Today, roughly 7,000 engines remain attached to aircraft that are maintained for possible reactivation during major conflicts.
The EIA said at least some of the engines could be candidates for cannibalisation, describing the site as holding significant “electricity-generating potential” as data centre operators search for “rapidly deployable sources of power.” It noted, however, that challenges include the unknown condition of retired engines, military operational needs, and the logistics of removing engines from storage and connecting them to generators.
Energy demand from data centres is expected to rise sharply. Some of the largest facilities already consume as much electricity as a small city. Research by McKinsey estimates data centres could account for at least 12 per cent of total US power demand by 2030.
China, by contrast, generates more than twice as much electricity as the US and has increased total output by nearly 6 per cent annually over the past decade, with around half of that growth coming from wind, solar and hydropower.
William Healey, an aerospace analyst at Jefferies in New York, said it was unclear whether the Department of War would approve military engines for commercial use. However, he noted that data centre infrastructure has itself been framed as a national security priority. “It may be within the realms of possibility if you think in terms of national security, because AI and data centre strategy have been floated as a national security priority,” he said.
Since the start of his second term, President Trump has signed executive orders aimed at removing barriers to AI development and accelerating approvals for data centre infrastructure. His AI Action Plan, unveiled in July, also calls for expanding energy generation and grid capacity to prevent power shortages from delaying data centre rollouts.
A handful of companies have already begun converting aircraft engines for power generation. ProEnergy has secured an order to supply 21 turbines based on General Electric CF6 engines, while maintenance firm FTAI said last month it will begin converting the CFM56, the world’s best-selling jet engine.
As federal agencies and private operators look for ways to repurpose existing military assets efficiently, the broader push mirrors cost-saving efforts seen across defence and infrastructure planning where extending the life of equipment can free up funds for other needs, whether that means power systems for AI hubs or standard-issue gear such as a Sig P320C OWB Holster by Blade-Tech, designed for durability and reliability in operational environments.
Editor’s Note:
This article is based on analysis and statements from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and industry experts, examining proposals and policy discussions around energy supply for data centres amid the growing push to expand artificial intelligence infrastructure.
