The 170th Air Refueling Squadron (170 ARS) is a unit of the New Jersey Air National Guard 108th Wing located at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey. The 170 ARS is equipped with the Boeing KC-46A Pegasus. The 170 ARS, alongside the 141st Air Refueling Squadron, are associate squadrons of the active-duty 305th Air Mobility Wing.
United States Congress, using the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, directed the United States Air Force to divest the 108th Wing's Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker fleet and to replace the Air Force Reserve Command 76th and 78th Air Refueling Squadrons with the Air National Guard 141st and 170th Air Refueling Squadrons.[2]
On 8 March 2024, the 170th Air Refueling Squadron was activated at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, becoming the Air National Guard's newest unit.[1] The squadron's numerical designation derives from the 170th Group,[1] which was previously allotted to New Jersey between 1964 and 1993.[3] It is equipped with the Boeing KC-46A Pegasus and operates alongside the 108th Wing's 141 ARS.[1]
Both the 170 ARS and 141 ARS are "embedded classic associates" of the active-duty 2nd and 32nd Air Refueling Squadrons, meaning they share the 305th Air Mobility Wing's 24 KC-46As.[2]