WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker today applauded final inclusion in a military spending bill of $158 million in critical funding for Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JBMDL) to further its mission as a power projection platform. The senators had requested this funding to support the new KC-46A air refueling tankers and to expand the Navy Reserve airfield.

“Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst is indispensable to both our national security and to New Jersey’s economy, and this important funding will help ensure its vitality for years to come,” said Sen. Menendez. “The Joint Base is both strategically and geographically situated to be the perfect home for the KC-46A next generation refueling tanker. This is an important step in the appropriations process. I will continue to push for final passage, and look forward to seeing the progress that this funding will provide for the base and its surrounding communities.”

“Today is another important milestone in ensuring that the Air Force has the capability it needs to keep our country secure,” Sen. Booker said. “JBMDL’s strong track record in tanker and airlift operations, its prime location, and the thousands of military flight hours our service men and women perform each year ensures the base is the right choice for the KC-46. By taking action today to fund this tanker mission, the Senate has recognized this fact and taken another step forward to bring jobs and economic opportunity to JBMDL and New Jersey.”

The FY18 Military Construction-VA Appropriations bill contains the following funding for the Joint Base, the nation’s only tri-service joint installation—home to Air Force, Army and Navy operations—and the second largest employer in New Jersey:

  • Air Force will provide $146.5 million for KC-46A refueling tankers
    • $72,000,000 - KC-46A Two-Bat General Purpose MX Hangar
    • $18,000,000 - KC-46A ADAL B2324 Regional MX Training Facility
    • $17,000,000 - KC-46A Alter Apron & Fuel Hydrants
    • $9,000,000 - KC-46A Alter Bldgs. For Ops and TFI AMU-AMXS
    • $6,900,000 - KC-46A ADAL B1816 For Supply
    • $6,100,000 - KC-46A ADAL B2319 For Boom Operator Trainer
    • $5,800,000 - KC-46A Alter Facilities for Maintenance
    • $4,100,000 - KC-46A Aerospace Ground Equipment Storage
    • $3,300,000 - KC-46A ADAL B3209 For Fuselage Trainer
    • $2,300,000 - KC-46A Add To B1837 For Body Tanks Storage
    • $2,000,000 - KC-46A ADAL B1749 For ATGL & LST Servicing
  • Navy Reserve funding will provide $11.5 million for Aircraft Apron, Taxiway and Support Facilities for the Marine Aircraft Group 49 (MAG 49) to expand the airfield parking apron to accommodate the home-basing of Marine Forces Reserve aircraft, and relocate several small facilities displaced by the apron expansion

In January, at the urging of Sens. Menendez and Booker, and the entire New Jersey Congressional delegation, the Air Force announced that it had selected JBMDL to host the new, next generation KC-46A aircraft, which is expected to replace the air refueling capability currently provided by the KC-10.

The air refueling mission of the Air Force’s Air Mobility Command is a core mission at JBMDL, which is home to the 305th Air Mobility Wing (Active Component) that supports the delivery of cargo and personnel to combatant commanders abroad, and the 514th Air Mobility (Reserve Component). Both units currently fly the KC-10 Extender. The New Jersey Air National Guard’s 108th Air Wing flies the KC-135 air refueling tanker.

JBMDL has more than 88 mission partners, and employs and houses more than 42,000 Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, civilians and their family members. It is comprised of almost 4,000 facilities representing $9.3 billion in infrastructure – and is the second largest employer in New Jersey. Economic analysis reports that JBMDL generates more than $6.9 billion in economic impact for New Jersey every year.

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