Rep. Jim Saxton (R-N.J.) extolled the arrival of the New Jersey Air National Guard’s first R model KC-135 tankers, saying the aircraft would “ensure the survival of the 108th Air Refueling Wing. The wing is giving up its older KC-135E models for the newer R models, which have new engines that make them 90 percent quieter than the older model tankers. Saxton was instrumental in getting the 108th ARW, based at McGuire AFB, N.J., off the hit list during BRAC 2005.
The Air Force wants to pump more than $12 billion over the next five years into its new affordable long-range missiles program and recently asked industry to push the flights of some of those munitions beyond 1,200 miles.