KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Tennessee’s national lawmakers have announced that McGhee-Tyson Air National Guard Base in Blount County will become home to eight new KC-46 tanker aircraft.
Senator Marsha Blackburn said Wednesday that the U.S. Air Force has selected the Tennessee Air National Guard Base and 134th Air Refueling Wing to be the seventh main operating base for the KC-46 Pegasus.
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Blackburn and other Tennessee U.S. Congress members, including Senator Bill Hagerty, Congressman Chuck Fleischman, and Congressman Tim Burchett have pushed for the Air Force to select the McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base and 134th Air Refueling Wing to host the next generation of the KC-46 tanker aircraft.
“McGee Tyson Air National Guard Base has a long, distinguished record of excellence, and today’s announcement reaffirms what we’ve known all along,” said Blackburn. “Designating McGhee Tyson as a main operating base for the KC-46 Pegasus will strengthen our national security by providing rapid access to key operational areas at home and abroad while supporting jobs for Tennesseans.”…