US Aerospace Inc. may have taken defense insiders by surprise on July 9 when it submitted a $30 billion bid for the Air Force’s KC-X tanker contract, but company officials say they are very much a real competitor. The company’s proposed AN-112-KC tanker, based on an airframe from Ukrainian state-owned aerospace giant Antonov, is specifically designed to meet KC-X requirements, Charles Arnold, senior advisor to US Aerospace’s board of directors, told the Daily Report in an interview Tuesday. Its wings stretch 166 feet and more closely resemble the slicked-back style of a bomber than a typical passenger carrier, he said. The unique design is intended to provide more stability to wing-mounted, hose-and-drogue refueling operations, he noted. The AN-112 would be capable of refueling the fastest US fighters as well as significantly slower helicopters, according to Arnold. Plus, it also can refuel two aircraft at once using its centerline boom and one of the wing-mounted, hose-and-drogue systems, he said. Continue
Since President Donald Trump first unveiled his “Golden Dome” missile defense initiative in late January, much of the focus for it has been focused on space—how the Pentagon may deploy dozens, if not hundreds, of sensors and interceptors into orbit to protect the continental U.S. from missile barrages. But the Air…