Spokane7
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January 9, 2012 in Business, City, Region
Campaign begins to land new tankers at Fairchild
This artist’s rendering provided by Boeing Co. shows Boeing’s NewGen Tanker that the Chicago-based company will build for the U.S. Air Force. The new airborne refueling tankers will replace the Air Force’s Eisenhower-era KC-135’s.
(Full-size photo)
Production of a new fleet of Boeing air refueling tankers could bring more jobs and investment to Spokane, officials said today.
The first in the new fleet of KC-46A tankers will roll out of Boeing’s Everett plant in 2017.
State and local leaders want those first tankers sent to nearby Fairchild Air Force Base.
Greater Spokane Inc. today kicked off a campaign it is calling Fairchild First – a public information effort to get the new tankers here. Leaders held a rally this morning at GSI’s business center in downtown Spokane to underline the effort.
The new tankers will replace the 1950s-era KC-135s, a familiar sight in the skies over Spokane. They also were built by Boeing.
“The end of one mission is the beginning of the next,” said U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., during the kickoff.
Murray said the Fairchild First effort is intended to “make sure the Pentagon realizes that the first place for the first planes off the assembly line is only a short flight away.”
She said, “The assets this region provides are the best.”
Murray was joined by U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and local leaders.
Murray and Cantwell explained that Fairchild is a key asset to the Air Force and a perfect site for stationing the first new tankers. It has seen more than $400 million of investment in upgrades and new facilities, including a new runway and approach system.
In addition, Murray said, she and other officials are promoting Fairchild as a logical location for a training facility for the new tanker.
However, the Air Force has not given much indication yet of how it plans to bring the tankers on line. Murray said the Air Force in March will announce selection criteria for deciding the locations for the new tankers.
In a long-running competition with a European consortium, Boeing last year won the contract to build 179 “new generation” replacement tankers at a cost of $35 billion.
The tanker will come from a modified Boeing 767 air frame, but will also have a digital flight deck developed for the Boeing 787.
Cantwell noted that workers at the Everett plant were instrumental in building plant modifications so work could be done there.
In addition to the contract with Boeing, the Air Force also would spend an estimated $200 million to prepare a base for the new tankers, Cantwell said.
Fairchild is ideally located on the flight paths to Asia as well as being close to other major flight routes, she said.
Cantwell has been pushing for development of the military and civilian aerospace industries across Washington, including in Spokane.
Dave Carlson, a union steelworker at Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corp, said the Boeing tanker contract is providing job security for Kaiser workers.
“We’re noted for getting our metal out on time and in good quality,” he said.
Kaiser and its related business employ nearly 1,000 workers in Spokane, Carlson said. “We’re talking good-paying jobs,” he said.
In addition to promoting Fairchild for the tankers, local officials are also working to get 1,000 acres of industrial land ready for development, said Rich Hadley, president and CEO of GSI.
That includes creation of a new zoning map to allow additional building heights in areas near the airport and air base, but not in the crucial flight approaches extending from the ends of the runways. Outside the flight path control zones, buildings would be allowed up to 150 feet.
Spokane County Commissioners have scheduled a public hearing on the new airport overlay zone at 5:30 p.m. today at the Commissioners’ Hearing Room in the Public Works Building, 1026 E. Broadway Ave. A decision is expected at a later date.
Returning farmland to a state of nature 
westerly on January 09 at 4:56 p.m.
So, we have older tankers here now, why won’t we get the newer ones later?
RedCedar on January 09 at 5:01 p.m.
Yes, it is, though why on Earth would that be important? The Chinese are our friends.
Weren’t they?
Now that I think about it, China is probably the only other country on Earth that has ICBMs that are likely to work properly. Maybe we’d be better off letting Malmstrom, Vandenberg, or Nellis host the new fleet. Granted Airway Heights is a dump and would probably be improved by a modest nuclear airburst, but what if the Chinese missiles aren’t very accurate and they hit a better part of town? Depending on the time of year and the weather, the fallout could be kind of annoying too.
lowtechmaster on January 09 at 6:57 p.m.
Will our Congresswoman use all of her influence with her party to insure that will happen?????????????????????????????
westerly on January 09 at 7:18 p.m.
McChord, (JBLM) is in Tacoma, wa.
sean96 on January 09 at 7:46 p.m.
Close Fairchild down it brings no value. Sell it to private corporations so that they can build high end housing and golf courses for the real “job creators” . We all know the government does not create wealth, Mike Fitzsimmons, Rush and Hannity told me so. Isn’t that right my tea bagging friends?
Pigrobin on January 09 at 8:09 p.m.
Sean, why don’t you want a strong national defense?
zelda on January 09 at 8:10 p.m.
Malmstrom’s refueling group was decommissioned in the 90s as a BRAC action and the tankers were sent to McDill in Florida. The runway and control towers were dismantled.
I suppose Fairchild stands a fair to decent chance. BRAC decisions are politically driven, mostly. Ever noticed how the various suppliers of weapon systems and military aircraft are “strategically” sprinkled throughout the states? Everybody gets at least one slice of the DoD pie. Murray and Cantwell might be able to make this happen, esp. since Puget Sound got the lion’s share of the 787 deal. The two senators have to look like they’ve put a modicum of effort into helping the state’s east side. We can’t make a respectable living off of BC Bud trafficking, casinos, call centers and puppy mills. Some real jobs would be appreciated.
D Statler on January 09 at 9:03 p.m.
Lets hope the proposed new casino doesn’t effect the decision. Anything near the flight or crash pathways could detour the airforce’s decision. I still would like to see the Spokane Tribe given the land at Plantes Ferry for the proposed casino. This is the real sacred ground to native Americans in our area.The land near the airforce base means nothing to the Indians. We can only win with the new tankers coming to Fairchild. Fairchild has and will always be a good neighbor. We should let Fairchild tell us what they need to prosper and make it happen. I hope our County commissioners read and take notes.
Shadedmuse on January 09 at 9:14 p.m.
I say Relocated SIA out to fairchild because when I try and land a plane on the flight simultor I always end up landing at Fairchild because its a bigger runway and easier to see, how many times does the Airtrafic tower say Airforce one you o not have permision to land please clear the runway, because i had Permisiona at SIA and not fairchild.
Scoutster on January 10 at 5:28 a.m.
Bringing the first round to tankers to Fairchild for any other reason than because it makes sense strategically and financially after study by the USAF would be based on emotion and politics, not logic.
Another word is “pork”.
You wonder why we are broke? One reason is that we politicize what should be dispassionate decisions.
WillyPeter on January 10 at 7:21 a.m.
Of course we want to keep Fairchild. Hard for me to believe that anyone living in the Inland Empire really thinks we otta lose it….even those loveable xenophobes at Lesser Spokane has proclaimed it should stay.
Casinos can be built anywhere. But tribal casinos should be built on tribal reservations. There is no fair rational which dictates that tribes should have priority off reservation land over other citizen groups. And building any casino near Fairchild when so much empty realestate is available elsewhere is not just risky…it’s just plain dumb.
Find CougarGold’s comments of 17-18 November - easy to find in the search block above - by typing in Tribal Casino…it’s enlightening to read postings from somone who knows what they’re talkin’ about.
Ashree_Simon on January 10 at 12:44 p.m.
Bring on the new tankers to FAFB. Who can argue with creating new jobs for our area and stimulating our local economy.