Michigan has broken ground on a $152 million project to realign and expand the runway at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County — the construction step that prepares the base, north-east of Detroit, to receive two new aircraft missions: F-15EX Eagle II fighter jets and KC-46 Pegasus tanker aircraft.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer, officials from the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA), federal, state and local elected officials and community stakeholders broke ground on the project on Wednesday, October 28, the governor's office said. The groundbreaking ceremony was held at the Selfridge Visitors Center at 44875 Jefferson Avenue in New Baltimore, according to the DMVA advisory for the event.
The bipartisan project, funded earlier this year, will realign and expand the runway at Selfridge, strengthening the installation's infrastructure to accommodate its next generation of aircraft, the governor's office said. Radio reporting from the ceremony said the work will make the runway 1,000 feet longer to the north.
'Selfridge is essential to our national defense, our economy, and the communities that surround it,' Governor Gretchen Whitmer said. 'This groundbreaking marks another important step in preparing the base for its next generation of missions.'
'Breaking ground on this project represents a significant investment in the future of Selfridge and the military readiness it provides to our state and nation,' said U.S. Army Major General Paul D. Rogers, adjutant general and director of the DMVA. 'Through strong partnerships among state, federal and local leaders, we are advancing the critical infrastructure needed to support the F-15EX Eagle II and KC-46 Pegasus missions and ensure Selfridge remains a vital part of our nation's defense.'
Two aircraft transitions behind the runway work
The runway improvements are part of the upgrades needed to bring home Selfridge's future missions. The Michigan National Guard's 127th Wing is preparing to transition from the A-10 Thunderbolt II to the F-15EX Eagle II — a mission announced in April 2025 — and from the KC-135 Stratotanker to the KC-46 Pegasus, the governor's office said. The 127th Wing is set to convert to the two new aircraft over the next five to seven years, according to the wing's background in the state release.
The runway project is also part of a broader infrastructure effort at Selfridge that includes the relocation and reconstruction of a portion of William P. Rosso Highway between Interstate 94 and Jefferson Avenue. That highway work includes roadway realignment, drainage improvements and related modifications needed to accommodate the installation's future requirements, the state said.
State Representative Alicia St. Germaine, who supported the state funding package earlier this year, called the groundbreaking a win for Macomb County. 'Selfridge isn't just a military base. It's part of who we are in Macomb County,' she said. 'You can't expect a military base to have a future if you're not willing to invest in it. This is about protecting jobs, supporting our economy and keeping Selfridge strong for generations.'
Why the base matters to Michigan — and what happens next
Selfridge contributes an estimated $850 million to Michigan's economy, supporting 30,000 jobs statewide and more than 5,000 members of the Air and Army National Guard and Reserve components, according to the governor's office. It is home to units from every U.S. Armed Service except Space Force, as well as homeland security operations by Customs and Border Protection. Michigan's wider defence industry contributes $30 billion to the state economy and supports approximately 166,000 jobs, the release said.
The F-15EX mission builds on the bipartisan effort that secured the KC-46A tanker mission for Selfridge, announced in January 2024, after the Air Force had planned to divest the A-10 mission without a replacement — a gap the governor's office said it had pressed Washington to fill since 2022, including a $28 million fighter-maintenance hangar whose groundbreaking was held in May 2023.
What happens next is construction: the runway realignment and expansion, together with the Rosso Highway relocation and drainage work, are to be built so the base can receive the new fighter and tanker missions as the 127th Wing converts over the coming five to seven years. For communities around the base in Macomb County — and for the truckers and commuters who use the Interstate 94 corridor beside it — the highway realignment is the part of the project most likely to affect daily travel while work proceeds.