PAUL LEWIS / INDIANAPOLIS & PETER LA FRANCHI / CANBERRA
Lockheed Martin says purpose-built concept cheaper than modified airframes - but price-tag could scupper prospects
Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works has unveiled the concept design for a dedicated air-to-air refuelling tanker, which it claims would be smaller and cheaper than current modified commercial airframes, but be capable of off-loading more fuel, and flying faster and at greater range.
The only drawback would be the $4.2 billion cost and development time of four years, at a time when the air force is struggling to persuade US Congress to release money to lease Boeing KC-767s.
The proposed Force Employment Tanker (FET) is intended to refocus US Air Force thinking on how it employs tankers, and consider the long-term benefits of a purpose-designed solution rather than simply replacing the Boeing KC-135 with another converted but more modern airliner.
Lockheed Martin is suggesting a mix of high-end strategic tankers, along the lines of the new KC-767 and KC-10, together with low-end tactical FETs capable of penetrating and supporting fighters and unmanned combat air vehicles.
Lockheed Martin says recent air campaigns, starting with the Gulf War in 1991, have been limited by tanker availability.
At one stage during the Kosovo campaign, the number of fighter sorties equalled that of deployable tankers. With an ageing 545KC-135E/R tanker fleet and the move towards larger multi-role replacement platforms, boom availability will become more critical.
The FET "would take advantage of the latest systems and designs", says Andrew Bennett, Lockheed Martin manager air mobility systems. It would feature a large composite wing, housing the aircraft's fuel and be comparable in wingspan to the KC-135.
The fuselage, in contrast, would be considerably shorter and narrower for improved cruise speed and lower drag, with only the cockpit pressurised. To minimise the interference with receiving aircraft, the aircraft's two engines would be mid-mounted on the fuselage above the trailing-edge wing.
Aircraft would be refuelled from two outboard underwing mounted pods, with dual automated bi-fold booms and drogues. Compared to a KC-135-size tanker, the FET would have half the burn rate and be able to carry and off-load up to 45,500kg (100,000lb) of fuel over a greater distance.
The FET, with an empty weight of 41,200kg, would weigh 50% less than a KC-135, and be capable of operating from twice as many runways. At a projected unit cost of $80 million based on a 550 aircraft production run, the manufacturer estimates that FET would cost 40% less to acquire.
n The US Marine Corps plans to modernise its 28 newer Lockheed Martin KC-130Ts as part of the US Air Force's wider C-130 avionics modernisation programme. It will include new glass cockpits.
Source: Flight International