In 2011, the Pentagon, at the end of a long, not spared procedure, announced that it wanted to order 179 KC-46A “Pegasus” tankers from Boeing at the expense of Airbus. [EADS à l’époque] who, together with Northrop Grumman, had defended the candidacy of the A330 MRTT [appelé « KC-45A » outre-Atlantique].
However, after Boeing visibly lowered its prices to win the bet, the development of the KC-46A, which existed only on the drawing board at the time, was beset with technical difficulties that added expense.
That is, and even if problems remain, especially at the level of the system that allows monitoring the transfer of fuel [le RVS, pour Remote Vision System], eventually Boeing delivered the first KC-46As to the US Air Force. And since then, it has conducted several experiments with its new equipment as part of its “Agile Combat Employment” concept, designed to increase its flexibility and resilience in “combat” environments.
But the order for the 179 KC-46As was only the first phase of a larger program. In fact, in June 2021, the Pentagon launched Project “KC-Y” to procure 140 to 160 additional tankers. This market is said to be played between Boeing and Lockheed-Martin, which along with Airbus intends to submit the bid for the LMXT, the design of which is based on the A330 MRTT.
However, it is not certain that this KC-Y project will be completed. As of June 2022, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center [AFLCMC] has made an industry request for information under the AAR FoS program [Advanced Aerial Refueling Family of Systems] with a view to developing a “new family of tanker aircraft” with the aim of being able to have more efficient and diverse capabilities [comme le ravitaillement en vol des drones et la guerre électronique].
“Current and future tankers must have command and control capabilities [C2]communicate effectively on a global scale, navigate precisely in degraded environments, and conduct high-speed operations in contested environments,” the AFLCMC stated at the time, apparently taking the opposite view of Gen. David Goldfein, the former United States Air Force Chief of Staff.
In fact, he had “buried” the idea of a stealth tanker plane in 2019, believing that the era of “special platform” projects qualified as a “game changer.” [ou de changeurs de jeu] was exceeded. However, a year earlier he had spoken out in favor of “unmanned tanker aircraft”. […] which could operate autonomously as part of a vast logistics fleet that could support attrition in conflicts”.
However, during a recent “webinar” organized by the Council of Foreign Relations. [CFR], reports Air&Space Forces Magazine, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall didn’t go there…Because he supported the idea that future tankers should be “stealth.” And that would also apply to transport aircraft.
“The traditional approach of turning an airliner like the DC-10 or B-767 into a tanker or a cargo plane […] will no longer meet the needs of the US Air Force,” he said, because new threats are “taking away that freedom.” Tankers have to be designed for survivability,” he explained.
This would explain another RFI issued by the Defense Innovation Unit in July 2022 [DIU]focused on developing new tanker aircraft [et de transport] mixed-winged [ou aile volante]. This project, confirmed by the US Air Force in October, is part of the Pentagon’s effort to reduce its fuel consumption. In fact, an aircraft designed according to such a configuration would use less kerosene [-30%] and… would also have the benefit of having a slimmer profile… and therefore smaller radar equivalent area.
To this day, Boeing is undeniably one step ahead… with the X-48A, a demonstrator designed in the 2000s in an integrated fuselage flying wing configuration.