Pease ANGB, N.H., will be the first ANG-led main operating base for the KC-46A Pegasus, the Air Force announced Aug. 6. Pease, which was named as the preferred alternative in May 2013, was selected as a main Guard operating base after officials analyzed operational considerations, installation attributes, economic, and environmental factors. It was chosen because of its highly successful Active Duty association, which would lead to a lower Active Duty manpower requirement, and its location in a region of high air refueling demand. The KC-46A “remains one of our top acquisition priorities. Making a final basing decision is an important step in recapitalizing the tanker fleet,” Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said. “Tankers are the lifeblood of our joint force’s ability to respond to crisis and contingencies,” added Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh. “The Pegasus will be capable of day and night operations and enable a rapid, global capability that will support US joint, allied, and coalition forces,” Welsh said. The formal Pegasus training unit at Altus AFB, Okla., and the first Active Duty-led main operating base at McConnell AFB, Kan., will begin receiving aircraft in 2016 and the first KC-46As are scheduled to arrive at Pease beginning in Fiscal 2018.
RTX, parent of Raytheon, Collins and Pratt & Whitney, is getting out of the space prime business and focusing on its "strengths" as a maker of space sensors, buses, and components, company COO Chris Calio said during an earnings call.