Collins Aerospace marks its 26th year of collaborating with the U.S. Air Force to upgrade more than 400 KC-135 aircraft with new Communications, Navigation, Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) solutions under its open systems approach to the Global Air Traffic Management (GATM) program. Working together, Collins and USAF enabled the KC-135 to freely operate in civil airspace and remain mission relevant, safe and reliable 60 years after the KC-135 was first introduced into service.
Looking to make a quick start on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s sweeping “FORTRESS America” program to make every military base in the U.S. more self sufficient, the Pentagon is dialing up its efforts in an area the Air Force has been working for several years: energy resilience and independence.