The Air Force makes it clear in the just-released tanker replacement RFI that any potential candidate should not only handle aerial refueling but also secondary missions, such as cargo and passenger hauling, aeromedical evacuation, and command, control, communications, and computer augmentation. (The latter capability was advocated by former Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper, who wanted to use tankers loitering over a combat area to provide an additional comm node.)
There is a new entrant in the highly competitive field of collaborative combat aircraft—semi-autonomous drones meant to fly alongside manned combat aircraft. Northrop Grumman unveiled its new Project Talon aircraft to a small group of reporters at the facilities of its subsidiary Scaled Composites.
