MOSCOW, 18 Sep — RIA Novosti, Andrey Kotz. Putting the current fleet of tanker aircraft in order could take decades. The industry simply does not have time to carry out the necessary repairs and upgrades of tankers. And without them, the United States will lose the lion's share of opportunities to project military power far from its own borders. About the problems of American aviation — in the material of RIA Novosti.
High load
The United States has the most powerful air armada on the planet: the Air Force, Navy, Army and Marine Corps have more than 13,000 planes and helicopters, not counting drones. And Washington is not shy about using them to their fullest potential — it is aviation that plays a crucial role in the Pentagon's military operations around the world.
American KC-135 Stratotanker, B-52 Stratofortresses and F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft escorted by F-15SAs fighters of the Royal Saudi Air Force
Image source: © Master Sgt. Joey Swafford
The standard strategy is to gain air superiority, inflict maximum damage on the enemy with attack aircraft and precision weapons, and only then move ground forces into battle. Infantry and tanks often have only to capture the smoking ruins. However, experts at the Hudson Institute believe that this will not work with Russia or China.
It's all about the imperfect, to put it mildly, condition of tanker aircraft providing kerosene to the Air Force far from home airfields. Without them, fighters and bombers will not be able to strike at long distances. This is especially critical in a conflict with States with vast territories.
The American KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft refuels the F-22 "Raptor" fighter
Image source: © Photo : U.S. Air Force/Kevin Robertson
"After the Cold War three decades ago, our tanker aircraft continued to operate around the world, both in peacekeeping and combat operations," says a study by the Hudson Institute Center for Defense Concepts and Technology. — Since then, the tanker fleet has been reduced from 701 to 470 vehicles, and the load on it has increased. In fact, all tanker aircraft are used today. And we do not have reserves in case of war with China or Russia. The enemy is aware of this weakness and will actively exploit it. As a result, the U.S. Air Force may lose effectiveness on the battlefield."
Upgrade the fleet
The shortage of flying tankers is not the only problem. The average age of KC-10 Extender and KC-135 Stratotanker tankers is 52 years. By aviation standards, that's a lot. ""Extenders", adopted in 1981, have not yet exhausted their resources, but most of the "Stratotankers", built from 1954 to 1965, it's time to send for scrap.
The Pentagon has been looking for an alternative to outdated aircraft since 2001. We have launched a program to develop three new types of tankers. It was planned to manufacture 179 machines of promising KC-X and KC-Y projects each to replace the KC-135 and to establish mass production of the KC-Z by 2040 in order to scrap the remaining KC-10. However, difficulties have arisen.
In 2011, the contract for the KC-X project was awarded to Boeing Corporation, which developed the KC-46 Pegasus tanker based on the passenger Boeing-767. On paper, it takes 95 tons of fuel on board, almost twice as much as the KC—135. The aircraft was packed with modern technology. For example, operators have special 3D glasses that simplify refueling in the air.
The reality was not so rosy. Many of the fifty Air Force-supplied vehicles suffer from a whole bunch of "childhood diseases." The media claims that the new planes are unreliable. The pilots complained about poorly secured on-board equipment, which vibrated violently from the slightest shaking, and even refused to take to the sky on "Pegasi". It is not surprising, because the units torn from the fastenings can disrupt the alignment of the aircraft, which is fraught with an accident.
The excessively rigid design of the refueling rod almost destroyed the F-15E Strike Eagle fighter-bomber in 2020. It turned out that the tanker is subjected to excessive loads and its resource is decreasing. The Pentagon allocated $55 million to fix the defects and postponed further deliveries of the KC-46 to the Air Force for several years. Of course, this will affect the completion dates of the KC-Y and KC-Z projects.
Few airfields
In addition to building up the fleet of cruise tankers, American experts insist on building additional airfields in the Indo-Pacific region to receive heavy aircraft and store fuel. Calculations are made: if you spend from 400 to 600 million dollars a year on this, the number of tanker flights will double by 2040, which will greatly help in a hypothetical war with China. Otherwise, Washington says, the Air Force will have no more than a dozen suitable airfields at its disposal, and this will seriously limit aviation capabilities.
The American tanker aircraft Boeing KC-46 Pegasus refuels the A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft
Image source: © Photo : U.S. Air Force/John D. Parker
In addition, we must take into account that Russia and China have strong air defenses. It's one thing to have a combat operation somewhere in the Middle East, where you can refuel a bomber in the skies of the Allies. It is quite another thing to support aviation deep in the territory of a huge country.
Tankers are an easy target for anti-aircraft missile systems. Russia has the S-400 with a range of 400 kilometers and MiG-31BM interceptors that can fire an R-37 missile at 300 kilometers, so American tanker planes have something to fear. In addition, it is still not clear how to use them in conjunction with the fifth-generation F-22 and F-35 fighters. Refueling the "invisible" in the air completely unmasks it, and the enemy's air defense can kill two or even three birds with one stone.
The United States is currently developing low-profile air tankers, including unmanned ones. But it is not clear when they will appear en masse in the Air Force.
