Bottom Line Up Front
Port San Antonio is working with Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Energy, Installations, and Environment (SAF/IE,) the 16th Air Force/Air Forces Cyber (16 AF,) Air Force Installation Management Support Center (AFIMSC), the Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC) and Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA) to develop a new, state-of-the-art home for 16 AF. This will provide America’s Cyber Warriors with the weapons platform they need in the defense of our homeland infrastructure and defeat of both nation state and criminal cyber threats worldwide.
The Story
16 AF is not only the Air Force’s cyber offensive and defensive capability, it also provides all the Air Force’s intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capability. It is currently housed in 70+ year old buildings on JBSA-Lackland AFB and in facilities provided by Port San Antonio, the redevelopment authority for the old Kelly AFB, in the JBSA-Lackland Annex. The 70+ year old facilities are not only inadequate to support the modern mission, they are literally crumbling. While more modern, the JBSA-Lackland Annex facilities were never designed with supporting modern information technology capabilities, including the energy-intensive servers and computers necessary to deter and defeat cyber threats.
Port San Antonio has the wherewithal to develop an entirely new, consolidated campus for 16AF. One which will have the infrastructure, communications, and security features required to support both the cyber and ISR missions of 16 AF. In addition, Port San Antonio’s existing industrial and academic cyber ecosystem can better cooperate and collaborate with 16 AF to develop the new technologies necessary to keep American ahead of our adversaries with a campus on the Port. In addition, Port San Antonio can develop services such as childcare, unaccompanied housing, retail shopping and services, and restaurants within walking distance of this campus, creating an entirely new community and expanded economic opportunity for San Antonio.
Port San Antonio brought the SONRI Team onboard in the spring of 2025 to help get the attention of Air Force leadership and navigate the Air Force bureaucracy to formally propose their concept. SONRI developed an engagement and communications plan which quickly bore fruit in the form discussions with the commanders of 16 AF, AFIMSC, AFCEC, and JBSA, and the first multi-agency meeting to present and discuss the opportunity. By the spring of 2026, Port San Antonio had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with SAF/IE and a regular workgroup was formed. In late summer 2026 Port San Antonio presented a briefing and a project concept to the Honorable Michael Borders, SAF/IE.
Conclusion
While the project is ongoing and the end of the story is yet to be written, it is safe to say that Port San Antonio’s concept is now under serious consideration at the highest levels of Air Force leadership. The SONRI Team is proud to play a key role in this project!
