The United States is likely to lose service members by the thousands each day in warfare of the future if the Air Force does not start “replacing its decrepit fleet of tankers” pronto, asserts Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute. Thompson sees the cargo hauling issue (see above) for the KC-X as one that “could be a show stopper.”
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
