Air Force: Not enough tankers for war

Published 8:29 am Thursday, April 29, 2010

The Air Force has too few aerial refueling tankers to support a war.

Air Force officials testified at hearings in Congress yesterday, saying their tanker forces could not sustain two out of three scenarios of major conflict.

One of the major reasons for the scarcity of tankers: aging tankers, like the KC-135, need constant maintenance. One in five KC-135 tankers is in a maintenance depot at any given time, the Air Force said.

The Air Force is trying to replace its fleet of KC-135s. Both the Boeing Co. and EADS plan to bid for a contract worth at least $35 billion. EADS announced just last week that it would bid, even after its major partner, Northrop Grumman, withdrew from the contest.

Bids are due in July.

For more on the Air Force’s tanker woes, check out this DOD Buzz story or this AirForce Times piece.