Capt. Pamela A. Melroy and McDonnell Douglas pilot Richard M. Cooper set two recognized jet aircraft class records for altitude with a 70,000-kilogram payload (32,169 feet) and greatest mass carried to a height of 2,000 meters (161,023 pounds) in a C-17A at Edwards AFB, Calif.
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.