Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst will get the newest refueling tankers in 2021 — two years before the other base also chosen to get them.

For the Joint Base, that means $154 million in military construction sooner than originally expected and insurance of the economic viability of the base for decades to come, officials said.

The 24 new KC-46A Pegasus planes are expected to secure a future for the base that's been on the chopping block in the past.

The planes will replace the aging fleet of KC-10 Extenders, a group of planes that have been in use since 1981. They were set to be retired in 2015 — putting the Joint Base at risk for closure — but were saved in a final version of the nation's defense bill in 2015.

Getting the planes before Travis Air Force Base in California, which will get them in 2023, will "fortify" the base and further protect is from upcoming rounds of base closures, said U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., who presents a large portion of the base.

The base is the second-largest employer in New Jersey next to state government, employing about 42,000 people. The base is responsible for about $3.4 billion of New Jersey's gross domestic product and has a $6.9 billion economic impact annually.

Facts about KC-46As:

• In January, the Joint Base and Travis were both selected to get 24 of the new planes directly from the factory in Everett, Washington.
• The planes cost about $150 million each
• They're 52 feet tall, 165 feet long and have a 157-foot wingspan