The U.S. Air Force and Transportation Command briefed Congress on their recent study of aerial refueling requirements. For the worst scenario it is estimated that the U.S. lacks twenty percent of the required capacity.

One of the reasons is that the KC-135R fleet is getting old. They require substantial depot time which limits the size of the fleet. The study states that at any one time nineteen percent of the aircraft are not available at any one time. This puts pressure on the KC-10 and KC-130 aircraft.

The study reinforces the need for a rapid start and completion of the KC-X program.

Over at BNET: Government where I also publish I have a piece on how this third try will be the winning one for the Air Force and Defense Department to get a new aircraft to replace the aging KC-135 fleet. There still remain many challenges with the contest as Northrop may not bid and Boeing has expressed concerns with the fixed price portion of the contract.

It will be an interesting next few months as this is all worked out. Next deadline is May 10th when proposals are due.

Since 9/11 the U.S. military has moved to integrate even more their National Guard and Reserve Forces. They have been called up at high rates and have received more and upgraded equipment. Currently the Air National Guard of various states like Alabama fly KC-135 tankers. If the full fleet of KC-X aircraft are built then some of the states will receive these new tankers. Recently it was announced that the Air National Guard will provide participation on the KC-X source selection. This is most likely to help make sure that any specific requirements of the Air Guard are considered and is not common with programs of this size.

The U.S. Air Force’s Air Mobility Command (AMC) will be operating the new KC-X tanker as a supplement to their KC-10 and KC-135 aircraft. Needless to say they are very excited about finally getting a new aircraft to replace their Cold War vintage fleet. Lost in all the back-and-forth on the contract and competition is the need for this aircraft.

Both the Gulf War and the current “Overseas Contingency Operations” demonstrate a need for aerial tanking. This capability extends the range of the U.S.’s strike aircraft as well as maximizes their presence on the battlefield.