Associated Press
SPOKANE — A group of military experts are planning a visit to Spokane to determine whether Fairchild Air Force Base would be a good fit for the nation’s next generation of air-refueling tankers.
The Spokesman-Review reported the Air Force has scheduled a meeting for Thursday to study the potential impacts of housing the new Boeing KC-46A Pegasus airplanes at Fairchild. If approved, Spokane would get the tankers sometime after 2020.
The planes are designed as a replacement to the KC-135 Stratotankers that have flown from Fairchild since the 1950s.
The Air Force had announced last year that Fairchild was one of five finalist bases in the running to receive the new planes. The other four bases are in Delaware, California, New Jersey and North Dakota.
Spokane lost its bid for the first round of new tankers in 2013 to McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Kansas.
Talk to us
- You can tell us about news and ask us about our journalism by emailing newstips@heraldnet.com or by calling 425-339-3428.
- If you have an opinion you wish to share for publication, send a letter to the editor to letters@heraldnet.com or by regular mail to The Daily Herald, Letters, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206.
- More contact information is here.
