HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Michigan’s Selfridge National Air Base has locked in major funding and plans from the president; here’s what the base plans to receive.
Last year, President Trump announced a new fighter mission for the base.
The plan will give Selfridge 21 new F-15 Ex Eagle Two Fighter Jets to replace aging A-10 Warthogs.
The new jets will reach 1,800 MPH and can fly 3k miles without refueling.
New jets are set to arrive in 2028.
For the jets, Lansing has locked in $152 million for runway and infrastructure upgrades at the base.
The funding is a piece of what Selfridge is expecting for its needed $1 billion improvements over the next few years.
Selfridge supports 30k jobs statewide and brings in an estimated $850 million dollars into Michigan’s economy each year.
On July 1, the base turns 109.
The base is located in Harrison Township.
Originally, the land was bought by Henry Joy, president of the Packard Motor Car Company, in 1916 and named Joy Aviation Field.
When the U.S. Army took over the field in 1917, the field was renamed Selfridge, after Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge, the first person ever killed in a military aircraft crash.
54 years later, on July 1 1971, the army handed the base to Michigan Air National guard, making Selfridge the first active air force base in the country to be run by the guard.
Maj. Gen. Paul Rogers, Adjutant General, Michigan National Guard. joined Local 4 Live to tell us more.
You can watch the full interview in the video at the beginning of this article.