In the Press...
Asbury Park Press article on Smith efforts to bring future aircraft to Jt. Base'Joint Base could get newest air tankers'By ASBURY PARK PRESS STAFF WRITER KALA KACHMAR - Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey's second-largest employer, could be the first to house KC-46s, the newest aerial refueling tankers that will be rolled out in 2018. The U.S. Air Force announced the 11 bases that are in the running to receive the aircraft, which were developed by the Boeing Company after being awarded a contract in 2011. The 52-foot tall KC-46 Pegasus, which is 165 feet long and has a 157-foot wingspan, will eventually replace the aging KC-135 Stratotankers that have been in use for about 50 years, according to the Air Force. The Joint Base has more than 20 of the Stratotankers. "Three years ago, the Joint Base narrowly lost out on becoming the first National Guard base to host the KC-46 tankers — making it to the final round after the original 80 (bases) were reviewed," said U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-4th) who represents a large portion of the base. The Joint Base has a lot of advantages other bases might not have when it comes to getting chosen to host the KC-46s, including its proximity to Europe, Africa and the Middle East, where the tankers are primarily used, said Jeff Sagnip, a spokesman for Smith. "It would be a superb fit," Sagnip said. "We're ideally located. It's the shortest distance between Europe and the Middle East." The base has long been a main tanker base in the U.S., Sagnip said. The base also has 32 of the country's 59 KC-10s, which account for two-thirds of the base's flying mission. The KC-10 aerial refueling tankers have a larger capacity than the KC-46s. Because of budget cuts, the KC-10 Extenders were set to be retired in 2015 but were saved in the final version of the nation's defense bill. New Jersey officials said the elimination of the KC-10s would have put the Joint Base at risk for closure. The Air Force will narrow the list of bases that qualify to receive the KC-46s by the spring and will likely have a final decision by the end of the year [2017], Sagnip said. And even if the Joint Base doesn't get the aircraft, this time, there will be other opportunities to get them as they're built. In total, 179 of the new aircraft will be complete and operational by 2028, according to the Air Force. "We're excited," Sagnip said. "It gives us something to work on over the next year and a half." |