The U.S. Air Force is fulfilling its commitment to base four KC-135 refueling planes at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, a move welcomed by Sen. Dan Sullivan. Sullivan has been advocating for this for nearly a decade, citing the need to refuel Alaska's growing fleet of 5th-generation fighters and address the limitations posed by the vast distances involved in Alaska's air defense.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The U.S. Air Force recently announced it is fulfilling its commitment to base four KC-135 refueling planes at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska , and Sen. Dan Sullivan , R- Alaska , couldn’t be happier.
A Utah Air National Guard KC-135R Stratotanker casts its reflection on a watered down flight line at the Roland R. Wright Air National Guard Base, Thursday, June 25, 2015. The aircraft's principal mission is air refueling, a unique asset which greatly enhances the Air Force's capability to accomplish its primary missions of Global Reach and Global Power.
“A thousand miles takes a couple tanking missions and we don’t have enough tankers in Alaska for that mission,” Sullivan said. “And if we ever had to surge forces to the Indo-Pacific for a conflict with Taiwan and with China over Taiwan or something else, all the Lower-48 aircraft are going to come right over Alaska. They will need tankers, so this is a strategic imperative.
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