Governor Gretchen Whitmer and federal, state, and local officials broke ground on a $152 million runway project at Selfridge Air National Guard Base. The project will realign and expand the runway to accommodate the Michigan National Guard's 127th Wing transition to new F-15EX Eagle II fighter aircraft and KC-46 Pegasus tanker aircraft.
The 127th Wing is transitioning from the A-10 Thunderbolt II fighter to the F-15EX Eagle II and from the KC-135 Stratotanker to the KC-46 Pegasus. The runway improvements are required to support these new missions, which are expected to occur over the next five to seven years.
The runway project is part of a broader infrastructure effort that includes relocation and reconstruction of a portion of William P. Rosso Highway between Interstate 94 and Jefferson Avenue. The highway project includes roadway realignment, drainage improvements, and related modifications to support the base's future mission requirements.
The base contributes an estimated $850 million to Michigan's economy and supports over 30,000 jobs statewide, according to military officials. Selfridge is home to units from every U.S. Armed Service except Space Force and hosts homeland security operations by Customs and Border Protection. The base directly supports Michigan's defense industry, which contributes $30 billion to the state's economy and supports approximately 166,000 jobs.
The 127th Wing has more than 1,400 Airmen and includes 45 mission partners from five of the six branches of the military and the Department of Homeland Security. The base previously hosted A-10 Thunderbolt II fighter and KC-135 Stratotanker missions. The new F-15EX mission follows a 2024 decision to base KC-46 tanker aircraft at Selfridge.