Portsmouth Herald - New Tankers on Schedule to Arrive at Pease in 2017

Press Release

Two Air Force generals confirmed Tuesday that the Pease Air National Guard Base's 157th Air Refueling Wing remains on schedule to receive 12 of the new KC-46A Pegasus tankers by December 2017.

U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte asked General Darren McDew, the commander of the Air Mobility Command and General Paul Selva, the commander of U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) to confirm both the timing and the number of KC-46As coming to Pease.

McDew, who has been nominated to be the next commander of TRANSCOM, replied "absolutely," when asked if Pease would still get the new generation of air refueling tankers on time, and Selva agreed with him.

Ayotte noted that in preparation for the arrival for the KC-46As, a Site Activation Task Force is already working at the Air National Guard Base at Pease.

"They're ready to receive it and looking forward to it," Ayotte said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday.

Ayotte also asked the generals if they believe "it's important to maintain the existing facilities, specifically the air craft parking ramps to support the day-to-day operations and contingency operations" at Pease.

Selva, who has been nominated to be the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, replied that "the ability to deploy from and employ from sufficient ramp space that has hydrant refueling capable of handling tankers is a strategic asset up and down the Eastern Seaboard."

"Pease is one of several locations that has that capability, but it is one we use significantly," Selva said.

Both Ayotte and U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., have said the decision to have the KC-46As based at Pease will result in millions of dollars in investment at Pease and at least dozens of new jobs.

"I will continue to highlight the strategic importance of Pease to our nation's military capabilities and readiness, and am grateful for the opportunity to discuss the base with today's nominees," Ayotte said after the hearing. "I am pleased that General Selva and General McDew confirmed that Pease is on track to receive 12 KC-46As in December 2017 and agreed that maintaining sufficient ramp space at Pease is important."

During the same hearing, Shaheen noted that McDew has experience flying the KC-135s, the current generation of tankers that operate out of Pease.

She asked him to talk about "the importance of that program and also its future role in supporting military operations around the world."

McDew stressed that the Air National Guard Base at Pease "has a strong history in air refueling and will be a valuable partner for decades to come."

"I have personally been to that unit. I have flown with members of that unit and I've known that unit for a long time," McDew said. "The KC-135 has been the backbone of our air refueling fleet for decades and will be for decades to come."

The KC-46As will bring "new capabilities and a younger airplane to the fight," McDew added.

He also praised Pease for the way it has "embraced our airmen."

Their comments came about four months after U.S. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said Boeing would likely miss an internal deadline for the first test flight of the new refueling tanker, the KC-46A Pegasus.

James said Wednesday "it does appear that (the) April timeline is likely to slip for that first flight."

James acknowledged during the March hearing that because of "testing and integration challenges," "the slack has gone from the schedule for meeting that first flight."

She stressed some of the internal targets "that the company has set for itself along the path to doing what it must do for the milestones and for the contractual obligations, some of those internal targets have slipped."

James also noted "in any developmental program you know certain things are going to go wrong."

Charles "Chick" Ramey, who's handling press for Boeing's KC-46A Pegasus project, told the Portsmouth Herald in a previous interview that the company is "working hard to complete functional testing leading to the first tanker flight later this year."

"Boeing has a great team here that's focused on keeping the KC-46 program on track and moving forward," Ramey said. "We're working in sync with the Air Force and have a plan in place to reduce risk and execute flight test."

He also stressed that with "any large-scale developmental program it is very common to experience challenges during the early phases."

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