Press Releases

WASHINGTON—Congressman Ron Estes (R-Kansas) is urging the House Armed Services Committee and Defense Appropriations Subcommittee to include funding for 18 KC-46A Pegasus refueling tankers in the Fiscal Year 2019 Defense Authorization and Appropriations (NDAA) bills. The Air Force is seeking to receive a total of 179 new KC-46 tankers. McConnell Air Force Base is expected to receive 36 of those tankers, the most of any other Air Force Base, over a period of several years. The most recent NDAA and omnibus bill funded an initial 18 KC-46 aircraft, the first of which will be arriving at McConnell in the coming months.

“One of my top priorities is making sure our military has the tools they need to succeed, including the best and safest aircraft for the Airmen at McConnell Air Force Base,” said Rep. Estes. “Securing this funding is a big win for McConnell, our community and our country. I am committed to continuing our efforts to fund additional KC-46 aircraft and rebuild our military.”

As the letter states, the Air Force is replacing the current tanker fleet of Eisenhower-era KC-135s and Reagan-era KC-10s. Funding additional KC-46 tankers will support all aerial missions of U.S. and coalition aircraft throughout the world. Rep. Estes led the letter along with Rep. Rick Larsen, who represents Boeing’s Everett factory in Washington.

“The KC-46A tanker is being built by the best aerospace workers in the world, the women and men at Boeing’s Everett factory,” said Rep. Larsen. “I am proud to support them and the nation’s servicemembers who will rely on this critical aircraft to provide advanced air refueling capability.”

The letter to chairs and ranking members of the House Armed Services Committee and House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee was co-signed by 48 total members of the House of Representatives and sent on Friday, April 27, 2018. Read the full text here.


Ron Estes is a 5th generation Kansan and represents Kansas’ 4th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. He serves on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and the House Committee on Homeland Security.