By Marina Malenic
The newer aircraft in the Air Force’s fleet of aging refueling tankers must be modernized in case the older planes have to be grounded, the Air Force general responsible for tanking operations said yesterday.
The KC-10 needs avionics upgrades and other improvements in case the Eisenhower-era KC-135 is not flightworthy before the entire fleet can be replaced, said Gen. Arthur Lichte, commander of Air Mobility Command, Scott AFB, Ill.
“The KC-10 fleet is 25 years old, and if anything should happen with the KC-135, it’s the only option we have left,” Lichte said. He was speaking at the annual Air Force Association conference in Washington.
AMC provides airlift, aerial refueling aeromedical evacuation for the armed forces.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz warned earlier this week that a KC-X fleet replacement contract could be up to four years away (Defense Daily, Sept. 16). Following a rancorous competition between Boeing [BA] and Northrop Grumman [NOC], the Pentagon decided just this month not to go forward with an award under the current administration (Defense Daily, Sept. 11).
The KC-10 was produced throughout the 1980s. Lichte noted that there is “a lot of life” left in those platforms.
The KC-135s, however, are nearing the end of their viability, according to the chief of Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
“We are trying to manage not what I would call an aging fleet any more,” said Gen. Bruce Carlson. “It is really a worn out fleet.”
Materiel command manages procurement and sustainment of Air Force weapon systems.
Carlson said the deterioration of fighter jets is also a matter of concern.
“We used to call this managing risk,” he said of maintaining the older aircraft. “Now we are beginning to see the implications of that.”