{"id":39811,"date":"2024-01-12T19:45:54","date_gmt":"2024-01-12T19:45:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2024\/01\/12\/selfridge-air-national-guard-base-picked-to-host-kc-46-squadron\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:16:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:16:56","slug":"selfridge-air-national-guard-base-picked-to-host-kc-46-squadron","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2024\/01\/12\/selfridge-air-national-guard-base-picked-to-host-kc-46-squadron\/","title":{"rendered":"Selfridge Air National Guard Base picked to host KC-46 squadron"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Michigan\u2019s Selfridge Air National Guard Base could soon become the next home of the Air Force\u2019s newest refueling jet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The service on Thursday announced Selfridge, located about 30 miles north of Detroit, as its preferred location for a dozen KC-46A Pegasus tankers Thursday. The decision depends on the outcome of an environmental review, which is expected by 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tankers, slated to begin arriving in 2029, would replace the base\u2019s aging fleet of eight KC-135 Stratotankers after they start to retire in 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Selfridge was among 16 Air Force locations vying for the tankers, the service told Air Force Times. The base, established in 1917, is home to the Michigan Air National Guard\u2019s 127th Wing, comprised of the 171st Air Refueling Squadron and the 107th Fighter Squadron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michigan Democratic Sens. Gary Peters, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Debbie Stabenow held up the confirmation of Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and nine other national security nominees<\/a> for about a month in 2021 after the Air Force picked Ebbing ANGB, Arkansas, over Selfridge to host an international training center for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Peters used the hold as leverage to secure commitments from the Air Force over the future of the base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSelfridge is a major asset to U.S. national security, and this decision reflects that strength,\u201d Peters, who served for more than decade at the base as a Navy reservist, told Air Force Times in a statement. \u201cThis is a huge win for Selfridge, Macomb County and our entire state.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michigan lawmakers urged the Air Force in a Dec. 20 letter<\/a> to pick the base based on \u201cits strong operational track record, exceptional personnel and strategic location.\u201d It also referred to a $100 million pledge from the state for runway and base improvements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe welcome this exciting news that will help to secure the future of Selfridge Air National Guard Base for decades to come,\u201d a delegation of Michigan lawmakers said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cThe 12 KC-46A refueling tankers \u2014 a larger unit than the eight KC-135s now at Selfridge \u2014 are next-generation aircraft that will strengthen American defense operations and capabilities for future threats, particularly as we prepare for potential conflicts in the Indo-Pacific.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In its decision, the Air Force said the base also remains in the running for future fighter aircraft \u201cor other potential missions.\u201d Michigan lawmakers have also pressed the service for jets to replace the 107th Fighter Squadron\u2019s fleet of A-10C Thunderbolt IIs, which are scheduled to begin retiring in 2026. <\/p>\n\n\n\t