USAF plans stealthy tankers for ‘extreme threat areas’

[rangerrebew]

USAF plans stealthy tankers for ‘extreme threat areas’
Next-gen aerial refueling program will be “a system,” not just one aircraft, says mobility chief.
AUDREY DECKER | FEBRUARY 15, 2024
AIR FORCE TECHNOLOGY
   
AURORA, Colorado—Tomorrow’s aerial tanking fleet will include some stealthy aircraft with “exquisite capabilities” that can fly into “extreme threat areas,” as well as a larger group of more conventional tankers, the head of the Air Force’s mobility arm said.

“It's not one airplane. It's a system, so it's not one-size-fits-all. I'm not looking to develop a fleet that has to handle every threat environment,” Gen. Mike Minihan, commander of Air Mobility Command, told reporters Wednesday at the Air & Space Forces Association Warfare Symposium here.

Minihan also said tomorrow’s tankers and airlifters will handle more than refueling and cargo missions. Open architecture, autonomy, and battle management capabilities are among the things he wants on his large mobility aircraft.

“We've got an enormous amount of real estate on these airplanes to do connectivity and serve a greater cause,” the general said.

https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2024/02/usaf-plans-stealthy-tankers-extreme-threat-areas/394199/?oref=d1-skybox-hp

[rangerrebew]

It's going to be hard to get the electricity from one plane to another.

[SZonian]

USAF plans stealthy tankers for ‘extreme threat areas’
Next-gen aerial refueling program will be “a system,” not just one aircraft, says mobility chief.
AUDREY DECKER | FEBRUARY 15, 2024
AIR FORCE TECHNOLOGY
   
AURORA, Colorado—Tomorrow’s aerial tanking fleet will include some stealthy aircraft with “exquisite capabilities” that can fly into “extreme threat areas,” as well as a larger group of more conventional tankers, the head of the Air Force’s mobility arm said.

“It's not one airplane. It's a system, so it's not one-size-fits-all. I'm not looking to develop a fleet that has to handle every threat environment,” Gen. Mike Minihan, commander of Air Mobility Command, told reporters Wednesday at the Air & Space Forces Association Warfare Symposium here.

Minihan also said tomorrow’s tankers and airlifters will handle more than refueling and cargo missions. Open architecture, autonomy, and battle management capabilities are among the things he wants on his large mobility aircraft.

“We've got an enormous amount of real estate on these airplanes to do connectivity and serve a greater cause,” the general said.

https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2024/02/usaf-plans-stealthy-tankers-extreme-threat-areas/394199/?oref=d1-skybox-hp

The KC46 is how many years behind schedule and how many $B's over budget and this guy thinks this is realistic? KC46 only eliminated the boom operator and they barely got it working. We'll see unicorns crapping skittles before this ever flies.