The U.S. Air Force has identified six candidate military bases for the Boeing-built KC-46A Pegasus tanker platform to be operated by the branch's reserve component and two potential locations to house active-duty aircraft units.
USAF said Thursday it will conduct site surveys this summer to evaluate each facility based on a set of criteria such as operational requirements, manpower and infrastructure. The service expects to choose its preferred locations in the fall.
Boeing delivered USAF's first KC-46A in January 2019 and received a $2.12 billion contract in early 2021 to manufacture the seventh batch of aerial refueling aircraft.
Fairchild AF Base and MacDill AFB are the potential sites to host the KC-46 active-duty component. The candidate KC-46A Reserve locations are:
- Beale AFB
- Grissom Air Reserve Base
- Joint Base Andrews-Naval Air Field Washington
- March ARB
- Niagara Falls ARB
- Tinker AFB, Oklahoma