After 14 years of planning, preparation, and refurbishment, the first train carrying aviation fuel entered Kunsan AB, South Korea, this week, marking the start of a new means of supplying jet fuel to the base. “The updated rail system will complement our current secondary means of fuel found in truck deliveries,” said SMSgt. John Reed, 8th Logistics Readiness Squadron fuels management flight chief. “This will improve our ability to actually take the fight north.” Kunsan is home to the F-16s of the 8th Fighter Wing, the Wolf Pack. The South Korean national rail company, Korail, operates the trains that will bring the fuel to the base gates. Security forces will check each car before it enters the base. The first fuel train arrived Wednesday. (Kunsan report by SrA. Benjamin Stratton)
As near-peer adversaries have increased their reach and lethality, the U.S. Air Force is accelerating the tanker fleet recapitalization and aggressively pulling forward the Next Generation Aerial Refueling System (NGAS) to meet the threat. Globally operating the KC-46A has advanced mission...