An Air National Guard (ANG) base in U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s (R-TN) home state is one of seven bases selected by the U.S. Department of the Air Force as candidate locations to host the Main Operating Base 7 for the department’s next generation of air refueling aircraft.
A final basing decision for the location is expected in 2027 and the first of eight aircraft are scheduled to arrive in 2031, according to the Department of the Air Force, which has chosen the 134th Air Refueling Wing at McGhee Tyson ANG Base outside of Knoxville, Tenn., as among the final bases under consideration for the final phase of competition to house the department’s KC-46 Pegasus. The aircraft will provide aerial refueling support to Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and partner-nation receivers.
“With decades of proven experience and service, McGhee Tyson ANG Base would be the perfect fit to receive and employ the KC-46, and I applaud the Air Force’s decision to keep Tennessee in the running,” Sen. Blackburn said on Oct. 4.
She recently spoke with Air Force officials, who informed her of the department’s decision to keep Tennessee in the running.
According to information provided by her office, McGhee Tyson ANG Base has more than 68 years of volunteer excellence and service to the Air Force, and as one of the most decorated air refueling units in Air Force history has received 16 Air Force Outstanding Unit awards.
Acquisition of the KC-46 Pegasus is the Tennessee Air National Guard’s number one short-term priority, the information says, and securing the aircraft for McGhee Tyson ANG Base would preserve over 1,500 jobs and $203 million annually.
In June, Sen. Blackburn led the entire bipartisan Tennessee congressional delegation in urging U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall III to make McGhee Tyson ANG Base the seventh main operating base for the KC-46, noting that Tennessee’s 134th Air Refueling Wing boasts over $200 million of infrastructure improvements and over 100 percent end strength growth over the last decade, making it uniquely qualified to receive and employ the KC-46.