
The U.S. Air Force has started to examine the attributes of a KC-Z tanker, but it appears that the future of a KC-Y "bridge tanker" is in doubt. The KC-Y commercial derivative tanker could fill the gap between the fielding of the 179th Boeing [BA] KC-46 and the KC-Z. The KC-46 fleet and possible future tankers would replace more than 400 KC-135s and KC-10s in the coming decades. "Our plan for the tanker fleet is evolving over time, and we're…