An Air Force KC-135 is working with the Navy’s V-22 Osprey team to test the tilt-rotor aircraft’s mid-air refueling capability. The tests, which began on Aug. 24 at NAS Patuxent River, Md., will determine first if the two aircraft can operate near each other safely, and then proceed with actual in-air refuelings. According to V-22 program spokesman Ward Carroll, the Wednesday test proved for the first time the two aircraft could connect via refueling boom. Carroll said the current testing phase will conclude early next week.
The KC-Z4, a blended wing body tanker concept being developed by startup JetZero, could fuel larger groups of aircraft at longer range to hold more targets at risk, company officials say.