SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane apparently will not become the second base to get the new air refueling KC-46A tankers.
The next wing of the new Pegasus tankers built by Boeing will go to Joint Base Maguire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey.
That’s according to Sen. Bob Mendendez of New Jersey, and Spokane business leaders on Thursday.
Fairchild is Spokane’s biggest single employer.
Air Force officials notified congressional leaders that Maguire-Dix-Lakehurst was their top choice for the second active duty wing of the new tankers, with 24 of the new refueling jets. Travis Air Force in California will also get 24 KC-46As.
A final decision will come later this year.
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who pushed for Fairchild to receive the new plane, says she is outraged by the decision.
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