Oregon Air National Guard base set to receive new jets and a massive overhaul

In one of the biggest overhauls of Oregon’s military in a generation, the state’s Air National Guard base in Portland is about to take control of 18 new jets and undergo hundreds of millions of dollars worth of infrastructure improvements.

“This is an immense deal for Oregon,” said Lt. Col Scott Wilcox, commander of the 142nd Civil Engineering Squadron.

The Oregon Air National Guard currently has 1,400 full- and part-time service members and 17 fighter jets, all F-15Cs. Their job is to protect the skies from the Canadian border to Northern California. If a Russian long-range bomber probes the nation’s air defenses, or a commercial airline is hijacked, pilots out of Portland might fly a pair of F-15Cs to investigate.