USAF Discussing Larger Fighters, Weaponized
KC-46, Roper Says
Steve Trimble September 23, 2020
KC-46A
Credit: Boeing/Paul
Weatherman
Developing
larger and longer-ranged fighters, weaponizing the Boeing KC-46 fleet, and
possibly fielding a new type of unmanned, small and stealthy tanker are all now
in discussion by U.S. Air Force leaders, assistant secretary of the Air Force
Will Roper said on Sept. 23.
As the head
of acquisition, technology and logistics, Roper said he and the new chief of
Air Mobility Command, Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost, are “excited” now about the
direction of the long-troubled KC-46 program, as the Air Force and Boeing
continue to finalize the Remote Vision System 2.0 upgrade.
The KC-46’s
turnaround, Roper said, is allowing acquisition and mobility officials to turn
their attention to addressing another Air Force refueling problem: How to solve
a yawning gap between refueling capacity and operational need for inflight
refueling, especially at the forward edge of a ring of contested airspace,
where large and, for now, relatively defenseless aircraft such as the KC-46 are
most vulnerable.
Building a
more survivable and responsive air refueling capability that can be used in a
contested war zone was the focus of a meeting this week between Roper and Van
Ovost, he said.
“One of
those next strategic questions for the Air Force is going to be can you defend
a tanker against an onslaught of fighters who know that every tanker you kill,
it’s like killing a lot of fighters or bombers or drones that it supports,”
Roper said.
Roper
prefers not to take a one-size-fits-all solution, such as a single major new
acquisition program that buys only one type of aircraft. Instead, the Air Force
should evaluate the solution to the contested aerial refueling problem as an
architecture, with multiple options that can be dialed back and forth.
One option
for reducing demand on tankers is a new fighter aircraft that is designed to
carry more fuel.
“Maybe
having [the] small, currently sized fighters is not the way to go in [the]
future,” Roper said. “And since we’re all abuzz with digital engineering and
thinking about what the future fighter force could look like, thinking about
bigger fighters is a natural question.”
Another way
to make the KC-46 fleet more survivable, and thus operate closer to the forward
edge of contested airspace, is to weaponize the aircraft, he said.
“We don’t
put weapons and sensors on tankers to shoot down aircraft, but the current
KC-46 is a big airplane with the ability to mount sensors and weapons under the
wings,” Roper said. “We just don’t do it because we can use a fighter combat
air patrol to defend high-value assets.”
The Air
Force also may need a different kind of tanker in the future, he said. Two
options are possible: A larger aircraft than the KC-46 that could carry more
fuel, but needs to stay farther away from potential threats, or much smaller,
unmanned and stealthy “micro-tankers” that could operate much closer or even
inside defended airspace, Roper said.
“I expect
that as we really look at airpower in the truly contested environment that
we’ll be looking at fuel very strategically,” Roper said.
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