Three types of U.S. Air Force fighter aircraft participated in air-to-air refueling with a commercial tanker for the first time last month, coinciding with a bilateral exercise between the U.S. and Singapore that concluded Nov. 24.
The Air Force is experimenting with having transport planes like the C-5, C-17, and C-130 haul hundreds of thousands of pounds of gas downrange. But experts say that while using transport jets to carry gas could be helpful in a pinch, the already-overburdened fleet likely ...
The Air Force will reduce its next buy of aerial tankers and push on toward development of a new, stealthy system that will be operational in the 2030s-2040, service acquisition executive Andrew Hunter said. He told reporters at the AFA Warfare Symposium that the Air ...
The Air Force believes it can save up to $80 million a year and increase its mission effectiveness per gallon of fuel by up to three percent under a new pilot program announced Feb. 1. The Mission Execution Excellence Program is aimed at more efficiently ...
Master Sgt. Jason Yunker literally scribbled his hot-pit refueling idea on the back of a bar napkin. As of Oct. 11, it became part of the Air Force's new operational concept of agile combat employment while promising to save his command more than $1 million ...
U.S. Transportation Command is looking too integrate the KC-46 into operations as soon as June, following Air Mobility Command’s move to free up the troubled tanker for ops to relieve stress on legacy refuelers. TRANSCOM boss Army Gen. Stephen R. Lyons recently visited KC-46 officials ...
Air Force acquisition and Air Mobility Command leaders are looking to set the requirements of future tankers, as the improved suite of cameras and sensors for the KC-46 brings the service to the “doorstep” of autonomous refueling. The Air Force and Boeing’s agreement to move ...
The Air Force’s first KC-10 Extender is heading to the boneyard after 33 years of service, totaling more than 33,000 flight hours and refueling more than 125,000 aircraft. The KC-10, tail number 86-0036, was sent off in a ceremony July 13 at its last operational ...