An Air Force study now under way could help decide the way forward for the Air Force’s next-generation aerial refueling system, the acting head of Air Mobility Command said April 20.
Lt. Gen. Rebecca Sonkiss said the NGAS system is crucial to ensure the Air Force can deliver conventional and nuclear strikes where and when it needs. The Analysis of Alternatives study aims to narrow the options.
“There’s an element on the theater side that we have to get after for that high-end problem,” Sonkiss said. “That’s really the work of the NGAS AOA.” She did not say when results might be available.
Options on the table include acquiring more KC-46 Pegasus tankers and fielding some outside means for protecting the tankers or developing a stealthy refueling platform that is more survivable in contested airspace, she said. A third way would combine both strategies.
The Air Force released a wide-ranging request for information in August 2025 asking industry for their ideas on a future tanker.
The Air Force has been debating the challenge for years, but with a goal of fielding NGAS in the mid-2030s, time is running out before decisions must be made. Among the more radical options are a blended wing-body aircraft and unmanned systems.
Sonkiss said continuing to recapitalize the Air Force’s tanker fleet with new KC-46s remains a top priority, as the bulk of the force remains 60-year-old-plus KC-135s.
“We cannot lose sight of that,” Sonkiss said. “It is a must-do.”
Effective refueling capabilities allow the Air Force to deliver lethal force from bases in the U.S., without having to preposition forces, Sonkiss said — and “we’re very good at it.”
But with the introduction of the stealthy sixth-generation B-21 Raider bomber, Sonkiss said, the aAir Force needs a suitable refueler to match. The KC-135s are as old as the B-52 bombers, and were fielded as a paired system.
“We need to make sure that the B-21 is linked up with a capable, modern tanker,” Sonkiss said.