By LANE CURLEE | Special to The Times

TULLAHOMA, Tenn. — According to an article in the October 23, 2025 edition of Defense News, AEDC is being considered as a location for a private AI Data Center. The Department of the Air Force seeks to lease thousands of acres of land at five bases to private firms to build their own artificial intelligence data centers.

Other bases include Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, Edwards Air Force Base in California, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey and Robins Air Force Base in Georgia.

The Air Force posted a solicitation online in October asking for proposals to develop land which the Air Force called “underutilized”.

The article quoted Robert Morieaty, the Air Force’s deputy assistant secretary for installations, “AI is transforming the modern world and these data centers are crucial for America to remain at the forefront of innovation.”

The requests were made as a result of Executive Orders in January and July that seek to speed up the nation’s adoption of AI technology and construction of the massive data centers that technology requires. The Executive Order calls for the Defense Department to identify sites on military installations that could be used for data center infrastructure and then competitively lease the land.

AEDC offered two sites: a 122 acre site off Highway 55 and a 152 acre site off Wattendorf Memorial Highway. To qualify, a project must require more than 100 megawatts of new load and be worth at least $500 million among other requirements.

The Air Force set a Nov. 14 deadline for companies to submit their proposals and will make a selection or selections next January. •

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