As tanker plans remains uncertain, today’s Air Force refuelers may fly past their 100th birthday

Born in the 1950s, the Stratotanker has long been the backbone of the Air Force’s tanker fleet, with numerous upgrades to its avionics and engines over the years. However, with the KC-10 Extender now fully retired, the KC-46 Pegasus grappling with low readiness, and the future of a next-gen tanker becoming increasingly uncertain, the service may need to overhaul its KC-135s to keep them flying well past the program’s 100th anniversary.

Recapitalizing the tanker fleet is a major priority for the command and the service “may need to look at service life extension, potentially, of the KC-135,” Gen. Johnny Lamontagne, head of Air Mobility Command, told Defense One during the State of Defense series. 

How long the KC-135 might serve will depend on the service’s tanker strategy, which has been in limbo for years. The service is finishing analysis on two intertwined proposals: “tanker recapitalization,” a near-term purchase of tankers; and a next-gen tanker program called “Next Generation Air Refueling System.”

“The outcome of that analysis will determine if there’s a need to extend the service life of the KC-135 beyond its currently planned 2050 sunset. If extended, the fleet will likely undergo major modifications and enhancements,” an AMC spokesperson said.

The prospects for a stealthy new tanker remain uncertain. Service officials are increasingly strident in their calls for a sixth-generation fighter jet—Next Generation Air Dominance—but have been less vocal about a new tanker. An analysis of alternatives for NGAS is set to be finished by the end of the month, and the fate of both NGAS and NGAD will be determined by the incoming service leaders.

When asked about NGAS, Air Force Chief David Allvin said there are other ways to improve the survivability of the service’s current tankers, including electronic warfare and data connections to other platforms. And like NGAD, he said, NGAS should not be envisioned not as just one new  aircraft but as a “family of systems.”

“Next-generation aerial refueling system doesn't necessarily mean a platform. It just means a new way to ensure survivability in a denser threat environment,” Allvin told Defense One. 

The development of NGAD and NGAS is closely tied, since the size and role of a next-gen tanker hinges on the future fighter. If the service chooses to build a large, exquisite fighter rather than smaller aircraft or drones, it reduces the need for a stealthy tanker that can operate closer to front lines. Cost is also a big factor, since it's unlikely that the service can fund both advanced fighter and tanker programs simultaneously.

Although no formal decision has been made, Lamontagne echoed Allvin’s sentiment that there are various ways the service can conduct survivable refueling without a new stealthy tanker.  

“We can continue to upgrade the fleets and put defensive systems on it, just like we've upgraded the navigation, the engines and more over the past decades. We can also team up with other partners in the joint force and have them defend us, and so a variety of ways to do it, even if we don't pursue NGAS,” Lamontagne said. 

Lamontagne also said that it was “too early to tell” when the service might release a request for information on the NGAS airframe, but work is underway to identify potential mission systems providers and develop the technology for survivable aerial refueling.

The Air Force’s plans for its next purchase of tankers—a “bridge” buy of at least 75 more aircraft to provide aerial refueling until NGAS comes online—have also been in flux. Officials have been non-committal on the purchase and haven’t announced how many and what kind of aircraft they want, pending some decision on how fast NGAS could be fielded. 

Despite the uncertainty, Lamontagne said they “absolutely want to continue to recapitalize the KC-135 fleet. The details of that are not yet known, and so we hope to know more details in the months ahead.”

Lamontagne also clarified that the Air Force is not set on buying Boeing KC-46s for the bridge tanker purchase, and said there are a “variety of vendors” that could provide aircraft. The service once hoped to launch a formal competition for the purchase, but that has looked less and less likely after the service’s top weapons buyer said they’d probably just buy more KC-46s from Boeing, and Lockheed later dropped out of its partnership with Airbus to develop a new offering.  

As the service mulls its tanker plans, it’s working through problems with its KC-46s. Pegasus deliveries were halted on February 27 after cracks were found in the “outboard fixed-trailing-edge support structure,” according to a service spokesperson. 

Of the 50 tankers inspected so far, 11 had cracks, Lamontagne said, with the remaining 39 aircraft scheduled for inspection by the end of the month. 

The cracks don’t pose a safety risk, a service spokesperson previously said, and Lamontagne added that it’s a “pretty quick fix” once the parts are in hand. 

Deliveries will start flowing again once Boeing identifies the root cause, and the Air Force gets confirmation it won’t be a problem moving forward, Lamontagne said. 

This crack discovery is the latest setback with the KC-46 program, which has been working to fix a number of "category one” deficiencies—issues with the potential to cause a crash or loss of life. One of the main problems has been with the tanker’s Remote Vision System, which allows the boom operator to see the boom through a video feed.

The program is making progress on the cat one deficiencies, Lamontagne said: “A number of those cat one deficiencies have been taken off the board and resolved. A couple of others are in the works and will deliver within the next year or two.”

Last year, the KC-46 had seven category-one deficiencies, but as of January, the program downgraded two of the problems: fuel manifold leaks and issues with the auxiliary power unit’s drain masts. These are now regarded as category-two deficiencies that reduce operational safety or effectiveness, but can be overcome with workarounds.

“The command is still monitoring and actively working five CAT I deficiencies,” the service said in a statement. ]]>