Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES
The US Air Force is taking the first steps towards seeking a replacement for its ageing fleet of Boeing KC-135 in-flight tankers with an analysis of alternative, (AOA) study covering different airframe options possibly getting underway as early as next June.
The AOA's foundations are being laid by the Tanker Requirement Study for 2005 (TRS-05), an analysis by USAF Air Mobility Command which has grownout of a parallel Mobility Requirement Study for 2005. Other contributory work includes the USAF's Common Widebody Study, which is evaluating a fleet-wide transport, utility and tactical widebody aircraft, and the KC-135 Economic Service Life Study which is "nearly wrapped up," says the USAF.
Reporting the initiative at the Airlift/Tanker Association meeting in California, the USAF says increasing maintenance costs and repair needs are placing a bigger burden on support. Some of the KC-135s are more than 40 years old. It estimates the fleet will cost $2.7 billion to maintain by 2040 when the number of aircraft is expected to have fallen to 533 from today's 546. "However, the number of aircraft available will decrease because many more will be in maintenance. The bottom line is it is going to cost more and more money to keep this fleet in the air," says the USAF TRS-05 study team.
The TRS-05 study includes tanker requirements for four scenarios: special operations, a major theatre war in south-west Asia and a similarly sized conflict in north-east Asia, plus a strategic nuclear war. It compares tanker missions for basic air refuelling as well as for combined fuelling and airlift, and assesses deployment and employment requirements as well as implications for aircrew numbers.
Results of the study are due "at the end of December, and staffing will begin in the new year for the AOA study," says the USAF. The 18-month to two-year AOA would effectively signal the start of what will be called the New Tanker Programme in October next year, but the USAF believes this could be brought forward, possibly to June. Based on current trends, it adds that the earliest notional initial operational capability may not be until 2013 or 2014, when the first major KC-135 retirement phases are expected to begin.
Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon (possibly in association with EADS) are expected to compete for whatever requirement emerges. According to Lockheed Martin, a draft mission needs statement is already in circulation. Potential candidates include a KC-767 variant and blended wing body from Boeing, various Airbus-based derivatives from Raytheon - including A330 and A340 options - and a range of Lockheed Martin advanced designs including a "box wing" configuration.
Source: Flight International
