WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME), in a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), received commitment from General David Allvin, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, to support the KC-46 tanker program and remain focused on military readiness and availability. Last fall, it was announced that Bangor Air National Guard Base was a finalist to receive the KC-46A fueling tankers to replace the aging KC-135s. During the exchange, Senator King touted the tremendous contribution of the “MAINEiacs” to national defense, encouraged continued investment there, and reminded General Allvin of the strategic importance of Bangor Air National Guard Base and it’s refueling mission.

“One way to help on the tanker capacity is the KC-46 which is at Bangor, affectionately known as the MAINEiacs. As you know, they provided enormous support during the Gulf War and anything on the east side of the United States, in terms of Europe, the Middle East, and it's going to be an incredibly important capacity. They're doing fantastically with their present fleet, but the KC-46 is the next generation. And as you pointed out yourself, tankers are the heart and soul of being able to keep our forces over the target. So, I hope that's something on your agenda,” began Senator King.

“Absolutely, Senator, and sort of the maniacs were on the list as part of one of the candidate locations, and the final location for preferred location will happen in the fourth quarter of this year,” replied General Allvin.

“I appreciate that. Thank you very much,” said Senator King.

Later in the hearing, Senator King stressed his concerns about military readiness to General Allvin, particularly regarding aircraft availability and maintenance. During their discussion, Senator King pointed out that the military operates with between 50-60% of their fleet available while commercial carriers often have more than 90% of their planes available for use.

“General Allvin, I am concerned about availability and mission availability. You mentioned a couple of figures, 50%, 62%. The commercial air fleet is in the high 90s. Now, granted, there are more complicated systems in the military, but I believe, and this applies to the Navy as well, that we really don't put enough emphasis on maintenance and availability. We're talking about very expensive products here, very expensive aircraft, and if we had more of them ready to fly, we perhaps wouldn't have to buy as many new ones. So, I see that closing that gap between 62% and 98% which is the commercial availability rate, would go a long way toward helping us with our budget and also helping us with our readiness,” said Senator King.

“Senator, thank you for that. I would say that one of the big challenges is that the airlines have a profit model. They have a different business model, and so as they look at that, they generate their values,” responded General Allvin.

“The difference is they have to meet a profit realization rate, and we don't. The military doesn't. And I think I'm just saying, surely, we can get beyond 62%,” replied Senator King.

General Allvin agreed, “I do believe, Senator, we do need to improve. I think one of the big challenges, though, is what I was trying to address, is the KC 135 is the average one? It’s as old as me and I am no spring chicken. So, the airlines, they just throw those out because it becomes cost ineffective for them to maintain older platforms that it can still have the enough seats for passenger seats to maintain a profit. So, they'll dump those off to the side.”

I understand that. But do you believe that we can do better than 62%,” asked Senator King.

I do believe we can do better, and I think it becomes more challenging the older the aircraft get, because we're discovering new things all the time, because they're breaking in new and different ways. Yes, Senator, we can. We can continue to do better,” finished General Allvin.

As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), and Chairman of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, Senator King has been a steadfast supporter of the armed forces, including Bangor’s 101^st Air Refueling Wing. He recently secured key provisions in the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that helps protect the Maine Air National Guard — guaranteeing that as the Air Force modernizes the tanker fleet, it replaces older aircraft on a one-for-one basis — and ensure support for all branches of the military to make sure that servicemembers can continue providing best in class services to protect the ‘territory of the brave.’ 

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