190th Air Refueling Wing The 190th Air Refueling Wing ( 190 FW ) is a unit of the Kansas Air National Guard , stationed at Forbes Field Air National Guard Base , Topeka , Kansas . . If activated to federal service , the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command . Overview . The 190th Air Refueling Wing ( ARW ) provides Global Reach for the United States Air Force through the in - flight refueling of fighters , bombers and other aircraft using the KC - 135 Stratotankers . Units . The 190th ARW comprises four main organizations as well as the Wing Headquarters History . On 15 October 1962 , the Kansas Air National Guard 117th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was authorized to expand to a group level , and the 190th Tactical Reconnaissance Group was established by the National Guard Bureau . The 117th TRS becoming the group ' s flying squadron . Other squadrons assigned into the group were the 190th Headquarters , 190th Material Squadron ( Maintenance ) , 190th Combat Support Squadron , and the 190th USAF Dispensary . The unit continued to operate its RB - 57A / B Canberra photo - reconnaissance aircraft at Hutchinson ANGB until 1967 , when the 190th TRG and its personnel , aircraft and equipment permanently relocated to Forbes AFB , near Topeka after Strategic Air Command vacated its facilities and transferred Forbes AFB to the Tactical Air Command . The 117th continued to operate the RB - 57s until 1972 when the aged aircraft were retired and sent to AMARC at Davis - Monthan AFB , Arizona . In return the 190th began to receive the Martin B - 57G variant that were modified as night intruders for use in the Vietnam War under a project known as Tropic Moon . B - 57Bs were modified with a low light level television camera plus a forward - looking infrared ( FLIR ) set and a laser guidance system . The laser guidance system now made it possible to carry four 500 - lb " smart bombs " on the underwing pylons . With the receipt of the B - 57Gs from their combat service in Thailand , the unit was re - designated as the 190th Tactical Bombardment Group on 12 June 1972 . The service of the B - 57Gs was short , as operation of these B - 57Gs proved to be expensive , and the aircraft were hard to maintain in the field . They served until 1974 , when they were consigned to storage at Davis Monthan AFB . Forbes AFB was ordered closed by the Department of Defense as part of a post - Vietnam reduction in force on 17 April 1973 . Most of the facility was turned over for civilian use , however the 190th TBG retained a small portion of the base , being renamed Forbes Field Air National Guard Base . In April 1974 , the unit converted to EB - 57B Canberra electronic countermeasures aircraft and became the 190th Defense Systems Evaluation Group . The 190th deployed aircraft to bases throughout the USA , Canada , and Europe providing Electronic Counter - Measure ( ECM ) training and evaluation services to the various Aircraft Control and Warning ( Radar ) Squadrons . The 117th also used the EB - 57 as faker target aircraft against F - 102 Delta Dagger and F - 106 Delta Dart interceptors . The 190th operated the aircraft until 1978 when they were retired as part of the draw - down of Aerospace Defense Command . Air Refueling . In 1978 , the 190th was transferred to Strategic Air Command , being equipped with the KC - 135A Stratotanker and began an air refueling mission ; one it retains to the present - day . In 1984 the 117th was upgraded to the KC - 135E and in 1990 , the 190th was the first unit to arrive in Saudi Arabia in August 1990 for service during the 1991 Gulf Crisis , being assigned to the 1709th Air Refueling Wing ( Provisional ) at King Abdul Aziz Air Base , Jeddah , Saudi Arabia . The 117th flew air refueling missions in support of Operation Desert Shield and later Operation Desert Storm ; remaining in the middle east until returning to Forbes AGB in March 1991 . The 190th gaining command shifted to the Air Mobility Command ( AMC ) with the disestablishment of SAC in 1992 , and in 1995 the Group ' s status was expanded to a Wing . During 1999 , the 190th deployed twice to Incirlik Air Base , Turkey , in support of Operation Northern Watch , refueling Allied aircraft over the northern No - Fly Zone in Iraq . In its 2005 BRAC Recommendations , DoD recommended to realign McConnell Air National Guard ( ANG ) Base by relocating the 184th Air Refueling Wing ( ANG ) nine KC - 135R aircraft to the 190th Air Refueling Wing at Forbes Field AGS , which would retire its eight assigned KC - 135E aircraft . The 184th Air Refueling Wing ' s operations and maintenance manpower would transfer with the aircraft to Forbes . Realigning ANG KC - 135R aircraft from McConnell to Forbes would replace the 190th ' s aging , higher maintenance KC - 135E aircraft with newer models while retaining the experienced personnel from one of the highest - ranking reserve component tanker bases . In June 2007 , the 190 ARW gained custody of all KC - 135R aircraft from the 184th ARW . This action consolidated all of the Kansas ANG ' s KC - 135R assets into a single wing located at Forbes Field . The 184 ARW was subsequently re - designated as the 184th Intelligence Wing ( 184 IW ) , a non - flying unit at McConnell AFB .