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Seven Air National Guard air refueling wings are in the running for what the Air Force is calling the KC-46A Pegasus Main Operating Base 7, the service announced Oct. 3.
The seven wings were among 15 units considered to receive the Air Force’s new tanker.
Air Force officials will decide in 2027 which of the seven wings will receive eight KC-46As built by Boeing to replace its aging KC-135 Stratotankers, the service's announcement said.
The first aircraft are scheduled to reach the selected wing in 2031.
The KC-135 entered service in 1957 as the first jet-powered refueling tanker. Manufactured through 1965, many KC-135s have been flying for more than 60 years.
Air Force officials listed the Guard units' bases when announcing the finalists for the KC-46A:
- Bangor Air National Guard Base, Maine (the 101st ARW)
- Forbes Field Air National Guard Base, Kansas (the 190th ARW)
- Key Field Air National Guard Base, Mississippi (the 186th ARW)
- McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, Tennessee (the 134th ARW)
- Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base, Ohio (the 121st ARW)
- Scott Air Force Base, Illinois (the 126th ARW)
- Sumpter Smith Air National Guard Base, Alabama (the 117th ARW)
The KC-46A brings enhanced capabilities including boom and drogue refueling on the same sortie, worldwide navigation and communication, cargo capacity on the aircraft's entire main deck floor, receiver air refueling, improved force protection and multipoint air refueling capability, per the Air Force.
KC-46A Pegasus MOB 7 will be the Air Guard’s fourth unit operating the KC-46A, according to the Air Force's current plans.
New Hampshire's 157th ARW was the first unit, receiving its initial batch of new tankers in 2019. New Jersey’s 108th Wing recently became the second Guard unit to have the KC-46A due to its association with an active-component wing. Michigan's 127th Wing is next, with the first of its 12 KC-46As scheduled to arrive in 2029.
The Air Guard's refueling units provide nearly 40% of the Air Force’s air-refueling capability.
— By John Goheen
