Turning in the Old in Iowa: T
he Iowa Air National Guard’s 185th Air Refueling Wing at Sioux City will be turning in some old iron over the next two years, according to the Sioux City Journal. The wing gets to trade its old E model KC-135 tankers for newer, re-engined KC-135R models. This will be an easy transition, notes the Journal, unlike in 2003 when the wing converted from F-16 fighters to KC-135 tankers.
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.