The U.S. Air Force soon will decide if Fairchild Air Force Base will receive 24 new KC-46A Pegasus aerial refueling tankers, or if the aircraft will head to its preferred choice at MacDill Air Force Base, in Florida. 

MacDill Air Force Base was selected as the preferred alternative to host two dozen refueling aircraft due to factors relating to mission, infrastructure capacity, community support, environmental considerations, and cost, an Air Force spokesperson says in an emailed statement.

Bedding down 24 KC-46A aircraft at MacDill will cost an estimated $233 million, significantly less than Fairchild's estimated cost of $427 million to host the new fleet, the spokesperson says.

A final decision is anticipated by year-end or early 2024, according to the Air Force's website.

Notice of a Final Environmental Impact Statement was issued Nov. 8 to federal, state, and local public agencies, which triggered a waiting period of at least 30 days before a public announcement will be made to name the selected location. 

If the Air Force's preferred base in Florida is selected, "Fairchild Air Force Base will continue to compete in future Air Force tanker basing actions," the spokesperson says, adding that, "Continuous modernization of the aging tanker fleet is the top priority in the refueling portfolio, and eventually all KC-135 will be recapitalized."

Currently, Fairchild operates four dozen KC-135 active duty aircraft at the military installation neighboring Airway Heights, west of Spokane.

"The KC-135 is an enduring mission supporting the national defense strategy and with 48 KC-135 aircraft, Fairchild Air Force Base is an integral and vital location for the Air Force," the spokesperson says.

The Air Force has been working on a strategy to modernize the existing refueling tanker fleet with the KC-46A since 2006. Congress has approved funds to purchase 179 aircraft to be incorporated into Air Force operations by 2028. 

The new planes have many technological improvements over the KC-135, including the ability to receive fuel from other tankers and a night-vision imaging system that will expand the use of the aircraft for covert operations. 

Additionally, the KC-46A can support multipoint refueling operations on a single mission. The KC-46A has improved connectivity to command-and-control systems and increased secure links to combat support. The new aircraft also is equipped with defensive systems that will improve operation outside of low-threat environments, according to the project website.

To date, the Air Force has created several environmental statements for the KC-46A Formal Training Unit, and the first four Main Operating Bases for the new fleet in Oklahoma, New Hampshire, California, and New Jersey. An environmental statement is underway for a fifth operating base as well.

MacDill and Fairchild emerged as the top contenders for the sixth base operations as both bases meet the selection criteria for consideration as active duty bases in the continental U.S. Both support existing KC-135 missions, each have runways at least 7,000 feet long, and they have the capacity to support the KC-46A mission, according to an environmental impact statement summary.

If Fairchild is selected, the base would require 17 capital projects on about 70 acres of land and add about 25 acres of impervious surfaces in support of the new fleet. MacDill would need 21 projects that are expected to disturb about 17 acres of land and add about 10 acres of impervious surfaces, according to the draft environmental impact statement. 

Among the 17 capital projects outlined for Fairchild, nine existing structures will require renovations and three facilities will need to be expanded. The base also would need to build five new facilities including a two-bay fuel cell and wash rack hangar, a mission planning center, a deployment readiness center, two Air National Guard air refueling squadrons, and a supply warehouse.

The Florida base only would require the construction of two new storage facilities, however MacDill also will need to renovate seven existing buildings, complete 11 expansion projects, and replace three hydrant fuel system pits, environmental documents show.

Fairchild also could experience a 29% increase in refueling tanker aircraft operations, to 21,600 annually, plus a 13% increase in personnel and their dependents, according to a comparison of alternatives with MacDill, which could see a 15% increase in aircraft operations, to 13,221 per year and a 1% personnel increase.

More than 5,000 KC-46A personnel and dependents would be relocated to Fairchild if the base is selected as the sixth operations base for the fleet, the report states. Under that scenario, over 1,600 of the 3,816 KC-135 personnel at Fairchild would be expected to relocate to make way for the new mission.

Other considerations provided in a summary of environmental impacts show both military bases would have negligible to minor adverse impacts on vegetation, and both locations also would experience short-term, minor, adverse impacts regarding noise levels. Fairchild has one property eligible for historic designation that would be renovated, compared to MacDill, which has updates planned at five hangars in the MacDill Field Historic District.

Economic activity in both communities would increase if either location was chosen to host the KC-46A aircraft, the environmental summary states.

Fairchild has been hosting the KC-135 for 65 years, since February 1958, as part of the 92nd Bombardment Wing, according to the military installation's website. 

As of Nov. 1, Fairchild is the top employer in Spokane County with over 7,400 full-time equivalent employees, according to the Journal's annual Spokane County's Largest Employers list.