Civilian Contract Air Refueling: Innovative or Insane?

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Over the last 10 years Air Mobility Command’s KC-135s have been plagued by deteriorating performance which is causing shortfalls in current air refueling capability. Air Mobility Command is now forecasting the retirement of KC-135s to begin in FY2013. There is no plan to address air refueling capability shortfalls in the near-term. Additionally, there are some problems inherent to the assumptions Air Mobility Command planners are making about the replacement for the KC-135, dubbed KC-X. This research paper accomplishes three tasks. First, it addresses the importance of air refueling to national security. This is accomplished by demonstrating air refueling’s contribution to America’s ability to rapidly project and employ power on a global scale. Secondly, this paper presents an explanation of current and forecast air refueling shortfalls.