The Air Force wants to spend more than a half billion dollars through 2031 on a new protection system designed for cargo and refueling aircraft that features onboard sensors and weapons to track and take down enemy missiles and drones.
aerial refueling
The Air Force is planning to retire more tankers than it buys in its fiscal 2027 budget, but an increase in deliveries of new KC-46s next year will cover the gap to ensure the service satisfies a congressional mandate to build up the overall refueling ...
The Air Force released new photos of the B-21 Raider conducting aerial refueling tests with a KC-135 Stratotanker—confirming a key milestone in the new long-range strike bomber’s development and offering a rare glimpse of the secretive aircraft’s features.
In an effort to improve connectivity aboard Air Force tanker and mobility aircraft, the Pentagon’s commercial technology innovation unit wants a system to install new applications on aircraft, such as a moving map display that helps aircrew see through the fog of war.
Contractors Northrop Grumman and Embraer are teaming up to offer the Air Force and U.S. allies a tactical mobility aircraft—designed for aerial refueling and cargo transport—to support Airmen operating from remote airfields with soft-soil airstrips, company officials said Feb. 19.
Boeing announced a new $565 million charge on its contract for the KC-46A Pegasus tanker, its first loss on the program since 2024. In a Jan. 27 earnings call, company leaders said the charge is due to cost growth on the 767 airliner, which is ...
The Air Force is conducting another round of market research for its proposed next-generation tanker, specifically asking industry for ideas on the airframe—a wide-open question with major implications for the future fleet.
Two dozen KC-135 crew members from multiple bases received the Distinguished Flying Cross for refueling the fighters that shot down 80 Iranian drones and missiles bound for Israel on April 13.
The last KC-10 refueling tanker in the Air Force inventory flew its last flight on Sept. 26 after an emotional farewell ceremony where KC-10 crew members past and present said their good-byes at Travis Air Force Base, Calif.
A KC-46 touched down at McConnell Air Force Base, Kan., on July 1 after a record 45-hour nonstop flight around the world. The mission, called Project Magellan, saw the two crews aboard test their limits as they refueled Air Force jets around the planet.
After years of fits and starts, the KC-46's Wing Aerial Refueling Pods started operational testing last month out of McConnell Air Force Base, Kan., giving the Pegasus the ability to refuel two aircraft at the same time. McConnell is the first operational base to get the ...
At 247 feet long and with a 222-foot wingspan, the C-5M Super Galaxy is the largest aircraft in the U.S. military—and, as a crew at Travis Air Force Base recently proved in the skies over northern California and Oregon, America’s largest flying gas station.