KC-46 joins the roster

When Travis Air Force Base gets its first KC- 46 Pegasus air tanker later this year, it will be the latest in a long line of tankers, transports, bombers and fighters stretching back to World War II that have called the base home.

Basing the KC- 46 at Travis, according to Rep. John Garamendi when Travis was announced as a future home of the air tanker, “demonstrates that Travis will continue to play a crucial role in our national defense for many decades to come, cementing its well-deserved status as the Gateway to the Pacific.”

Bringing the KC- 46 to Travis was a much-lobbied for outcome by the Travis Community Consortium, and its member local governments, as a way to make up for the coming departure of the KC-10 Extender air tanker fleet from Travis and active-duty service.

The Boing KC- 46 started development in February 2011 as a next-generation aerial refueling aircraft, designed to boost the air power and mobility operations of the Air Force around the globe, improving the service’s ability to respond rapidly to crises and contingency operations. It would displace the KC-10 Extender, which had been in service since 1981, and replace the KC-135 Stratotanker, which had been in service since 1957.

Along with next-generation aircraft systems and design, it has a radical change for how to handle refueling. Rather than using a boom operator seated near the tail of the refueler looking out a window, the KC- 46 has two operators at a video station near the front of the aircraft. They view the refueling through a series of multi-spectral cameras located around the aircraft.

Local base supporters started lobbying the minute after the Air Force started planning for where to put the KC-46. In 2014, the Air Force announced McConnell AFB, Kansas, would the first base to get the KC-46. That only spurred local leaders to lobby harder. McConnell got its first KC- 46 i n January 2019, after several delays in production and cost increases.

“The 60th and 349th Air Mobility Wings at Travis have maintained a superior refueling mission for decades,” then-Fairfield Mayor Price wrote in a September 2016 city council-approved letter to then-Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James, “and our hope is that Travis maintains this critical capability as the Air Force works to modernize its fleet.”

“Its proximity to the Asia-Pacific region for future defense needs, its existing mission capability and success for refueling missions, and its valued community support for our Air Force personnel make it the most attractive candidate,” then-Suisun City Mayor Pete Sanchez wrote in his city’s own letter to James.

In January 2017, Travis, along with Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, were the two installations named by Air Force officials as the preferred locations for the next two active-duty homes for the KC-46.

Local leaders’ lobbying work paid off in June 2017, when the secretary of the Air Force announced that Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst would get 24 KC-46s, starting in 2021, and Travis would get 27.

Col. John Klein, then 60th Air Mobility Wing commander, called the decision “great news for our installation.”

“We are excited for this enhanced refueling capability that will allow us to continue to ‘rapidly project American power any time ... anywhere,’ “ Klein said in a prepared statement that called the decision “a testament to the

2022: Construction crewmen work at the KC-46A Pegasus 3-bay maintenance hangar construction site at Travis Air Force Base, Dec. 5. The facility will be utilized for the maintenance and upkeep of Travis AFB’s future KC-46 tanker jet inventory upon the hangar’s completion in 2023.

(USAF photo) unprecedented support from our community who understands Travis’ critical role in enabling worldwide military operations.”

Local leaders were pleased with the announcement, too.

“It is just great, and it is great news for Travis, the Air Force, Fairfield and all of Solano County,” Price said after he heard the news, going on to praise lobbying efforts at all levels from recent Travis Community Consortium trips to Washington, D.C., to efforts by Garamendi, whom Price described as a tireless supporter of the base.

Garamendi said Travis’ community support, infrastructure, personnel and geographic location “make it the ideal choice to base the KC-46A tanker.” Garamendi added that the history of local community support for Travis has been “extremely important” in the Air Force’s decision.

“They have a reputation as being the most supportive,” Gara mendi said.

Garamendi said that bringing KC-46s to Travis was part of an ongoing effort to ensure that Travis got the most advanced technology and modern infrastructure possible.

“This decision demonstrates the Air Force’s commitment to Travis as a base that will continue to play a crucial role in our national defense for many decades to come,” Garamendi said. “The future of Travis today is more secure than ever.”

Sandy Person, then chairwoman of the Travis Community Consortium, called the announcement “fantastic news.”

“Solano County worked hard so that Travis would be well-positioned to receive this vital new mission capability,” Person said.

Secretary of the Air Force James said in the initial announcement that Travis was chosen as one of the next two bases for the KC- 46 because it “met all operational mission requirements at the best value for the Air Force and the American taxpayer and support our tanker recapitalization strategy.”

“It is absolutely essential that we continue investing in the next generation of tanker aircraft so we have the aircraft necessary to maintain the nation’s global reach for years to come,” James said.

Work to prepare the Travis for the KC-46s started with the 2018 A ir Force budget that included more than $120 m illion in military construction funds for three new hangers.

In December 2018, ground was broken for a $137-million, 174,300-square-foot three-bay hanger for the expected KC-46s. It was the biggest of 22 projects costing an estimated $188 m illion being undertaken to renovate existing facility space or construct new facilities. Construction of the hanger was delayed in 2020 by the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the time of the groundbreaking, the first KC- 46 was expected to arrive in January 2023. That date has since been pushed back to August 2023.