Disappointing news for Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee, Massachusetts. That’s after the Air Force announced it picked a different base to house the next generation of refueling tankers.

Officials at Westover had hoped it would become the future home of the KC-46A Pegasus, the new version of tankers that can refuel aircraft in mid-air. It would bring jobs and much-needed funding to the base, which has been hit hard by federal budget cuts.

But Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina was named the “preferred” base, in part because of cost, says Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek.

“There’s enough Reserve manpower that’s available at Seymour Johnson already so they can stand-up that unit without bringing more manpower in,” she said.

Westover isn’t entirely out of the running. If there’s a problem with an environmental impact study at Seymour Johnson — or if an additional tanker base is needed — Westover will be considered.

New England Public Radio’s Kari Njiiri contributed to this report.