May 15, 2024, 9:03 pm
The U.S. Air Force has stated that it needs more survivable aerial tankers no later than 2040.
Last year a senior official had indicated that the US Air Force is abandoning its KC-Y and KC-Z approach to developing and procuring refueling tankers and is instead moving to a next-generation aerial refueling model like its program to develop the sixth-generation fighter.
Andrew Hunter, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology, and logistics had earlier stated that the Air Force plan had been to procure 175 “KC-Y” tankers, also referred to as a “bridge tanker,” to replace the retiring KC-135s and fill the gap until the KC-Z tankers come into production in the 2040s.
So, with that approach cancelled , a completely new advance tanker is being thought of.
The U.S. Air Force had sent out a request for information (RFI) last year regarding a new tanker that could survive in contested airspace. The RFI mentioned that the service was open to creative concepts in all sizes and performance classes that might potentially meet the demanding mission criteria.
Now Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works has released a new rendering of a stealthy aerial tanker which could be proposed for the USAF’s Next Generation Air-Refueling System (NGAS) program.
In this video, Defense Updates reports on Lockheed Martin Skunk Work’s new stealthy aerial tanker.
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Chapters:
00:11 INTRODUCTION
02:39 TRADITIONAL TANKERS ARE VULNERABLE
04:32 THE DESIGN
06:50 ANALYSIS
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▶️ Narration by Scott Leffler (scottleffler.com)
🎵 Background Music courtesy of incompetech.com
"Giant Wyrm" Kevin MacLeod (Licensed under Creative Commons)
Content Creator – Defense Updates
