N.J. base gets next generation of Air Force tanker planes

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Employees cheer during a rally at Boeing Co.'s 767 assembly plant

Employees cheer during a rally at Boeing Co.'s 767 assembly plant

Military refueling planes will keep flying out of New Jersey for many years. A big decision has come down from the Pentagon. 

Washington says New Jersey’s Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst will host the U.S. Air Force’s next generation air refueling tankers-the KC-46A.  It was picked along with a base in California.  Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, which was among the finalists, was not chosen.

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez says the decision is a good one for jobs in South Jersey.

“In doing so, in my mind the Air Force the base’s strategic value and has expressed confidence in it’s ability to be part of America’s national security strategy,” he said.

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Menendez says it also means preserving the some 40,000 jobs that the joint base supports.

“We have been fighting to make sure the base has got more missions and is preserved the fact the Air Force has decided to base the KC46 here at McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst is critical to the base’s future and our national security,” he said.

The decision should preserve the facilities for many years, if not decades, Menendez said.

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