Sullivan Welcomes Arrival of 4 More KC-135 Stratotankers to Alaska

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), today celebrated the arrival of four additional KC-135 Stratotankers, culminating a ten-year campaign for greater military refueling capacity in Alaska led by the senator. The aerial refueling assets join the Alaska Air National Guard 168^th Wing's eight existing KC-135s based at Eielson Air Force Base, which currently support active-duty military operations under a Total Force Integration (TFI) initiative. The new tankers will be joined by an additional 200 Air Force personnel.

"The arrival of four additional tankers and hundreds more military personnel marks another exciting chapter in the historic military build-up we've achieved in Alaska over the past decade, which has not only been good for our national security, but also for Alaska's economy and hard-working families,"said Sen. Sullivan. "For ten years, I relentlessly pressed the senior-most Pentagon and Air Force officials to provide the refueling capacity we need to sustain the hub of air combat power in Alaska, especially considering Russia and China's increasingly aggressive incursions near our airspace and waters. These Airmen and tankers will join Alaska's more than 100 fifth-generation fighter aircraft-the most of any place on the planet-projecting power and securing America's interests in the Arctic and North Pacific. I look forward to welcoming these brave Airmen and their families to our great state and seeing them become a part of the most patriotic and supportive communities anywhere in the country."

Soon after arriving in the Senate in 2015, Sen. Sullivan campaigned aggressively for the Air Force to commit additional refueling assets to Alaska in light of the fact that the state would host more than 100 fifth-generation fighters between the F-22s based at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and two squadrons of F-35As arriving at Eielson Air Force Base. The senator's effort included putting a hold on the confirmation of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In March of 2021, the Air Force announced it would be adding four KC-135 refueling tanker aircraft to the existing squadron at Eielson, with a scheduled arrival date in fiscal year 2023. However, the Air Force subsequently missed this target due to a series of delays. Sen. Sullivan consistently pressed senior Department of Defense (DOD) and Air Force leaders in letters, phone calls, and committee hearings to fulfill its commitment.

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