A week after the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station said good-bye to the last of its C-130 transport planes, there's a push to expand and update the base in preparation for the arrival of a new fleet of tankers.
New York Democratic Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer say there are facility upgrades that still need to be made to accommodate eight KC-135 tankers that will be based there. Those improvements include the conversion of the building that will house a simulator used to train new pilots.
The 914th Airlift Wing is switching to KC-135 refueling tankers as part of a new mission that's seen as crucial to the future of the air base.
NFARS is the largest employer in Niagara County with 2,600 employees.
