Maine Air National Guard gets $50M to build new hangar in Bangor

People stand around a gray plane, a helicopter and a jeep.

Photo / Courtesy Maine Air National Guard The 101st Air Refueling Wing loads a helicopter onto a cargo plane.

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The Maine Air National Guard, nicknamed the MAINEiacs, will receive $50 million in federal money to build a new hangar in Bangor.

“Home to the MAINEiacs, the Maine Air National Guard’s 101st Air Refueling Wing in Bangor plays an important role in our national defense,” said U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. “This funding will provide for the construction of a new hangar that will improve the capabilities of the wing and enhance the Maine Guard’s readiness.”

Collins, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, secured the funding as part of the Fiscal Year 2025 full-year continuing resolution.

The existing hangar was designed and built to accommodate the wing's existing KC-135 aerial refueling tankers. The construction project will build a universal fuel cell hangar that can accommodate the Maine Air National Guard's existing aircraft as well as future generation tankers, according to a news release.

“This exciting development means that the MAINEiacs will be able to better maintain their current refueler aircraft, while ensuring they have the flexibility to house newer-generation tankers in the future,” said Brig. Gen. Diane Dunn, the adjutant general of the Maine National Guard.

Last June, Collins welcomed former secretary of the Air Force, Frank Kendall, to the Bangor Air National Guard base to visit the 101st Air Refueling Wing.

Dunn and Col. Byron Newell, the 101st ARW Commander, were also in attendance to welcome the Secretary.

The base includes an additive manufacturing workshop and has approximately 350 military personnel assigned to the 101st ARW.

The MAINEiacs support the requirements of U.S. and partner nation aircraft through their 10 KC-135s operated and maintained by servicemembers. The 101st ARW is one of seven Air National Guard bases competing to be selected to have its aging KC-135 tankers replaced with KC-46As, a new model of air refueling tanker.

In addition to the 101st Air Refueling Wing, the Maine Air National Guard is comprised of a Joint Forces Headquarters and two geographically separated units — the 243rd Engineering Installation Squadron and the 265th Combat Communications Squadron.

The Maine Air National Guard's 101st Air Refueling Wing in Bangor provides in-air refueling service to cargo planes, fighter jets and other aircraft. Its first KC-135s were assigned in 1976. The KC-135 tanker dates back more than 60 years, according to the Air Force.

The KC-46A, made by Arlington, Va.-based Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA), has greater refueling, cargo and aeromedical evacuation capabilities than the KC-135. The new tanker represents the beginning of a new era in air-to-air refueling capability for the U.S. military, according to the Air Force.

The aircraft has been in development since February 2011, and its initial flight occurred in December 2014. The first KC-46A was delivered to McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas five years ago, and the tankers are now operating at six Air Force locations.