:

Budget

Senate Panel Wants Air Force To Study Optionally Unmanned Tankers

By Marc Selinger

Thursday, June 7th, 2018

SHARE:

Senate Panel Wants Air Force To Study Optionally Unmanned Tankers

A KC-46A test plane at Boeing Field in Seattle. (Photo by Marc Selinger/Defense Daily)

Concerned about growing threats to the U.S. Air Force’s manned refueling aircraft, the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) has asked the service to explore alternatives, including optionally unmanned tankers.According to a newly released report explaining the committee’s fiscal year 2019 defense authorization bill, the Air Force’s existing KC-135 Stratotanker and its new KC-46A Pegasus, which are both manned, are “large, high-value aircraft,” making them “increasingly difficult to protect.” As a result, the committee added $10 million "to prototype a contested-environment tanker.” “The…

Congress

U.S. Fighter Fleet Will Expand By 2040 But More Stealth Aircraft Will Mean Less Availability, CBO Says

The number of fighter aircraft in the U.S. military inventory will decline over the next few years before expanding to a greater number than currently, but their availability for operational […]

Congress

White House Details ‘Concerns’ With Shipbuilding, Spaced-Based Interceptor Oversight In House’s NDAA

The White House has detailed “a number of concerns” with the newly-passed House version of the next defense policy bill, to include the legislation’s limits on procuring Navy ships built […]

Congress

House Narrowly Votes To Pass $1.15 Trillion FY ‘27 NDAA, Blueprint For Reconciliation 3.0

The House on Wednesday narrowly voted to pass its $1.15 trillion version of the fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and a blueprint for a third reconciliation bill […]

Congress

Senate Appropriators Press On Supplemental’s Requests Beyond Iran Scope, Hegseth Urges Full Funding

Senate appropriators have pressed Pentagon leadership on the decision to include funds in the Iran war supplemental request for items beyond the current military operation, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth […]