Fleet wide aircraft readiness rates have remained consistent over the last two decades, but not the cost to operate and maintain the aircraft. “Our costs have increased pretty significantly just to attain those mission capable rates,” Faykes said. In the last decade alone, said Faykes, the cost to maintain readiness climbed 87 percent. An older fleet is requiring more and more money to keep in the sky.
A new think tank analysis finds a hypothetical blended-wing body tanker could offer twice as much refueling performance as the KC-46A Pegasus and recommends the Air Force buy scores of them, as the service prepares to evaluate a BWB demonstrator next year and must juggle its future tanker plans with…