Gen. Michael Moseley, USAF Chief of Staff, believes there ultimately could be two winners in the service’s tanker replacement program. It’s likely the first batch of 179 aircraft would go to one competitor—either Boeing’s smaller KC-767 or the Northrop Grumman-EADS team’s larger KC-30, but Moseley told reporters during a Foreign Press Center briefing Feb. 21 that “down the road” USAF could go “to a mixed fleet” of both smaller and larger tankers. There is precedence since the service currently operates a two-sized tanker fleet, with the KC-135 and KC-10. The Air Force plans to hold subsequent competitions as it works to replace its entire current tanker fleet. Reuters news service quotes Moseley, “So there will be a continual set of opportunities for both companies to compete.”
KC-46’s Refueling Boom Damaged While Refueling F-22s
July 8, 2025
A U.S. Air Force KC-46 tanker suffered damage to its boom while refueling F-22 Raptors off the coast of Virginia on July 8, Air & Space Forces Magazine has confirmed, with reported radio communication from the crew indicating the boom “detached.”