The Air Force News Service reported this week that Dover Air Force Base has been named a finalist as the home for KC-46A Pegasus tankers. Other bases include Fairchild AFB, Washington; Grand Forks AFB, North Dakota; Travis AFB, California; and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, NJ.
The tankers are expected to begin to go into service in fiscal 2020. “The KC-46A Pegasus aerial tanker remains one of our top acquisition priorities,” said Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James. “It is absolutely essential that we replace our aging tanker fleet so we have the aircraft necessary to maintain the nation’s global reach for years to come.”
Air Mobility Command will soon conduct surveys of each candidate base in approved assessment areas. They will compare each location against operational requirements, potential impacts to existing missions, housing, infrastructure and manpower, the news service reported.
In addition, AMC will develop cost estimates to bed down the KC-46A for each candidate. Once the site surveys are completed, the results will be briefed to Air Force leadership who will select alternatives for the operating location. The Air Force plans to announce the second active duty-led KC-46A preferred alternative by the end of the year.
“Bringing the KC-46A online is a critical first step in recapitalizing a tanker fleet that has been at the heart of global response for more than five decades,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III. “This great new aircraft will achieve better mission-capable rates, suffer less maintenance downtime, and improve the U.S. military’s ability to respond rapidly to humanitarian crises and contingency operations around the world.”
“In this process, the Air Force uses criteria-based analysis and military judgment,” said Jennifer Miller, the deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations. “We look forward to the next phase of the process when the preferred alternative is announced and our candidate base communities have an opportunity to participate by providing input for the environmental analysis.”
The KC-46A will provide improved capabilities, according to the Air Force.
Dover Air Force Base has earned marks over the years for its good relationship with Delaware’s capital city.
At the same time, budget constraints, restructurings and a wind-down in operations in the Middle East and Afghanistan have affected employment and the economic impact of the base that remains a major factor in the central Delaware economy.
