Air Mobility Command has put together an 18-page white paper explaining the Air Force rationale for considering “floors and doors” in its KC-X tanker replacement program an essential requirement. The document—which just recently appeared unheralded on the AMC Web site—runs through the tanker/airlift discussion from the last Mobility Capabilities and offers a preview of the MCS-06 results, which “show that tankers are least in demand when airlift assets are stretched most thin during the early deployment phase of a conflict.” The white paper also provides a short history of the use of the service’s current tankers—the KC-135 and KC-10—in their alter ego roles as cargo haulers. A recent Government Accountability Office report criticized what analysts perceive as a lack of analysis behind the “doors and floors” key performance parameter. Some lawmakers, however, see the common sense side of seeking a dual mission aircraft.
Anduril Industries announced a new family of air-breathing cruise missiles intended to be low-cost and producible in large numbers. The “Barracuda” series is meant to flesh out anemic U.S. weapon inventories so munitions aren't exhausted in the first few weeks of an air campaign.