{"id":16915,"date":"2021-12-22T17:55:47","date_gmt":"2021-12-22T17:55:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/12\/22\/two-dozen-kc-46-tankers-will-likely-call-macdill-air-force-base-home\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:26:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:26:28","slug":"two-dozen-kc-46-tankers-will-likely-call-macdill-air-force-base-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2021\/12\/22\/two-dozen-kc-46-tankers-will-likely-call-macdill-air-force-base-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Two dozen KC-46 tankers will likely call MacDill Air Force Base home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">MacDill Air Force Base in central Florida is poised to become the next home of the KC-46 Pegasus tanker, the new refueling jet that is replacing older models around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force named the Gulf Coast installation as its preferred location for a group of 24 active duty KC-46s on Tuesday. It beat out Fairchild AFB, Washington, after the Air Force compared factors like the bases\u2019 missions, infrastructure capacity and cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe do not have encroachment issues like other bases and have well-paved runways, capacity in our hangars and accessible refueling areas,\u201d said Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., in a May press release. \u201cMacDill would make logistical and financial sense. Tampa is a \u2018tanker town,\u2019 and we intend to keep it that way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/industry\/2021\/01\/27\/boeings-cost-overruns-on-kc-46-now-exceed-its-initial-contract-with-the-air-force\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5087809.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Boeing\u2019s cost overruns on KC-46 now exceed initial contract with US Air Force<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Pressures on Boeing&#039;s commercial business during the pandemic have permeated the KC-46 program.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">MacDill hosts U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command headquarters, as well as one active duty air refueling wing and one Air Force Reserve wing of older KC-135R Stratotankers. The KC-46 would replace two dozen of those jets as part of a push to modernize the tanker inventory. Fairchild flies Stratotankers as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Air Force officials will make a final decision on the move to MacDill after looking at how it could affect the surrounding environment, considering issues such as toxic waste and noise pollution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both MacDill and Fairchild will undergo environmental impact studies over the next two years. A verdict is slated for fall 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pegasus tankers are already, or are expected to be, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/news\/your-air-force\/2021\/05\/14\/eight-more-bases-to-compete-for-active-duty-reserve-kc-46a-tankers\/\" target=\"_blank\">stationed at McConnell AFB in Kansas<\/a>, Altus AFB in Oklahoma, Seymour Johnson AFB in North Carolina, Travis AFB in California, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey and Pease Air National Guard Base in New Hampshire.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2021\/06\/08\/whats-a-fair-price-for-kc-46-spare-parts-the-air-force-isnt-sure\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6455363.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">What\u2019s a fair price for KC-46 spare parts? The Air Force isn\u2019t sure<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The soaring price of one spare part has led to new questions about an Air Force contract.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those jets are coming online as the Air Force works through a litany of design problems with plane manufacturer Boeing, which range from a faulty fuel boom viewing system to subpar cargo restraints. The company had delivered 48 of 179 KC-46s to the U.S. military under a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2021\/06\/17\/more-cost-overruns-are-coming-down-the-line-for-boeing-as-the-kc-46-program-logs-another-two-technical-deficiencies\/\" target=\"_blank\">$4.9 billion contract<\/a> as of Oct. 31.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The new tankers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/air\/2021\/07\/12\/the-air-force-gives-a-green-light-for-the-kc-46-to-start-limited-refueling-operations\/\" target=\"_blank\">received limited permission<\/a> to refuel aircraft in July, and now can service 10 types. That covers nearly 70% of planes that depend on the Air Force for aerial refueling, Lt. Col. Kevin White, Air Mobility Command\u2019s deputy chief of aircraft and logistics requirements, said in a Dec. 6 release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDespite existing restrictions and deficiencies, the KC-46A continues to demonstrate its growing operational capabilities,\u201d the Air Force said. \u201cThe Pegasus has completed over 6,000 missions, offloading over 37.8 million pounds of fuel, and making 28,000 boom and 1,900 drogue contacts since January 2019.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Florida base has been initially selected as a new home for the Pegasus aircraft, beating out Fairchild AFB in Washington. A final verdict is slated for fall 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":35116,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":67,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","news","left-column","home"],"primary_category":"your-military"}}},"categories":[101,24,88,16,26,67],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3392],"class_list":["post-16915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-left-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-air-force"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"EJOV6Z6UMNAQBDYRYQ3SRPZF5A","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-air-force\/2021\/12\/22\/two-dozen-kc-46-tankers-will-likely-call-macdill-air-force-base-home\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Two dozen KC-46 tankers will likely call MacDill Air Force Base home - Air Force TImes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Florida base has been initially selected as a new home for the Pegasus aircraft, beating out Fairchild AFB in Washington. A final verdict is slated for fall 2023.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Two dozen KC-46 tankers will likely call MacDill Air Force Base home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Florida base has been initially selected as a new home for the Pegasus aircraft, beating out Fairchild AFB in Washington. A final verdict is slated for fall 2023.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2021\/12\/22\/two-dozen-kc-46-tankers-will-likely-call-macdill-air-force-base-home\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Air Force TImes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-12-22T17:55:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T20:26:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rachel S. Cohen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rachel S. 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