WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI), a former Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve, highlighted the importance of Michigan’s defense installations during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Q. Brown Jr. During the hearing, Peters emphasized the significance of refueling capabilities for the U.S. Air Force and highlighted the KC-46 refueling tanker mission he helped secure for Selfridge Air National Guard Base earlier this year. Peters also acknowledged the U.S. Air Force’s plans to incorporate Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) in its operations and expressed the need to provide all servicemembers, including the National Guard, with training opportunities for these aircraft. Peters specifically highlighted the National All-Domain Warfighting Center, which utilizes both the Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center and the Alpena Combat Readiness Center, as a location suited for these training opportunities. 

On the KC-46 Mission:

“Aerial refueling is a foundation of global mobility and power projection for the U.S. Air Force,” said Senator Peters during the hearing. “I am thrilled that Michigan will continue to support this mission as we welcome a squadron of twelve KC-46 refueling tankers to Selfridge Air National Guard Base. The capabilities of the KC-46 will support our current and future fighter and bomber missions for decades to come.”  

Peters asked General Brown about the strategic role that refueling tankers like the KC-46As will play in our national security in the coming years, specifically in the Indo-Pacific.  

In response, General Brown said, “As you highlight, our tankers are strategic assets, and it actually allows us to be able to move combat power around the world like no other country, and to include the Indo-Pacific. It increases our combat reach and combat effectiveness with these tankers.” 

On the Collaborative Combat Aircraft Mission:

“Maintaining air superiority is also going to require that all components, including the National Guard, train with CCAs in real-world training environments,” Peters said. “These training opportunities found at locations like we have in Michigan, the National All-Domain Warfighting Center, I think will likely play a very key role in realizing that potential.”  

Secretary Austin responded saying, “I remain focused on making sure we have the right mix of capabilities to execute our strategy, and I would just speak to the point that the CCA capability is really, really important, and it will ensure we maintain a competitive edge in the future... This is a tremendous capability, we’re investing in the right things, and the total force at some point needs to have that capability.” 

“As I think about the joint forces, the joint warfighter, I often address the total force, and that’s the active guard, reserve, and our civilians,” said General Brown. “As we started the path on Collaborative Combat Aircraft, we looked at it from a total force perspective, and we’ll reapply that capability to make sure it is in all three components across the United States Airforce.”  

To watch the full video of Senator Peters’ questioning, click here or below.  

Peters announced in January that the U.S. Air Force selected Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County to host a new squadron of twelve KC-46A refueling tankers. This announcement came shortly after Peters led a bipartisan, bicameral group of Michigan delegation members in urging U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall to select Selfridge for a new squadron of these next-generation tankers, which will be deployed by the U.S. Air Force for the next 50 years. Placement of the KC-46 tankers will help cement Selfridge’s position as a critical component to our national security. 

In the most recent government funding legislation signed into law, Peters secured a provision providing $23.5 million in funding to support Exercise Northern Strike, the National Guard’s largest joint service and multicomponent exercise, which is hosted annually at the National All-Domain Warfighting Center in Northern Michigan.  

Peters also secured language authorizing a report that will clarify the basing criteria for CCA and evaluate whether existing Air National Guard units, such as Selfridge Air National Guard Base, are appropriate basing candidates for CCA. These types of unmanned aircraft are the future of warfare, and this report will help Selfridge Air National Guard Base better position itself as an installation that has significant long-term value for the Air Force. Last year, Peters underscored the importance of CCA technology in a confirmation hearing for Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force General David W. Allvin.   

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