Tankers (Page 2)

Latest in Tankers

KC-707 refueling F15 Baz.
Tankers

USAF Denies It Refueled Israel’s Fighters During War With Iran

By Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Jul 16, 2025

Air Force KC-46 Pegasus aerial refueling jets are experiencing problems with their auxiliary power units.
KC-46

KC-46 Crews Ordered To Drastically Curtail Use Of Jet’s Onboard Auxiliary Power Unit (Updated)

By Howard Altman

Updated on Jul 15, 2025

Boom On KC-46 Tanker Just Broke Off During F-22 Refueling Mission (Updated)
KC-46

Boom On KC-46 Tanker Just Broke Off During F-22 Refueling Mission (Updated)

By Joseph Trevithick

Updated on Jul 8, 2025

Retire Air Force Gen. Mike Minihan talked to use about the strain Middle East deployments are adding to the aging fleet of cargo jets and refueling tankers and offered his insights into a host of other topics.
KC-135

KC-135 Tankers Set To Get Drone Launchers

By Joseph Trevithick

Updated on Jul 2, 2025

Plans To Finally Give F-35 External Fuel Tanks Emerge In New Air Force Budget (Updated)
Tankers

Plans To Finally Give F-35 External Fuel Tanks Emerge In New Air Force Budget (Updated)

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jun 30, 2025

28 tankers were sent out over the Atlantic heading east tonight.
KC-135

Armada Of USAF Tankers Just Deployed East Over Atlantic Spurring Speculation (Updated)

By Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Jun 16, 2025

The aircraf carrier USS Nimitz has recently seen its service life extended, a sign of stress on the fleet.
KC-135

Major U.S. Middle East-Focused Buildup Confirmed (Updated)

By Joseph Trevithick, Howard Altman

Posted on Jun 16, 2025

The head of the U.S. Navy Reserve says that acquiring new C-130J Hercules aircraft is a top priority, particularly because of the critical organic aerial refueling capacity they could provide in a future Pacific fight.
Tankers

Buying KC-130Js Key To Navy’s Ability To Fight In Pacific: Reserve Boss

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on May 21, 2025

Marine MV-22 Ospreys Won’t Get Tanker Capability To Refuel F-35Bs Anytime Soon
Tankers

Marine MV-22 Ospreys Won’t Get Tanker Capability To Refuel F-35Bs Anytime Soon

By Tyler Rogoway

Updated on May 1, 2025

KC-10 for sale
KC-10

KC-10 Extender Tankers Are Up For Auction

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 11, 2025

The U.S. Air Force's selection of Boeing's F-47 as the winner of its Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) combat jet competition raises new questions about plans for new stealthy aerial refueling tankers.
KC-10

F-47 Fighter Reveal Draws New Attention To USAF Stealth Tanker Plans

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Mar 24, 2025

F-35 Hill AFB
KC-46

F-35s From Hill AFB Arrive In England

By Howard Altman

Updated on Mar 20, 2025

B-21 refueling requirements are pushing rethinking of tanker needs.
Tankers

B-21 Aerial Refueling Demands Further Point To It Being A Stealthy Flying Gas Can

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Mar 7, 2025

The Air Force will inspect all 89 of its KC-46A Pegasus aerial refueling jets after cracks were found on two set for delivery to the Military Delivery Center.
KC-46

Cracks In KC-46 Tankers Halt All Deliveries

By Howard Altman

Updated on Mar 1, 2025

The U.S. Air Force's force design director says analyses to date show the service will face more operational risk and be less able to achieve assigned objectives without a new crewed sixth-generation combat jet.
Tankers

Axing Next Generation Fighter Would Leave Air Force Worse Off: Force Design Boss

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Feb 26, 2025

Three nozzle binding mishaps on KC-46 Pegasus aerial refueling tankers have cost the AIr Force nearly $23 million
KC-46

Tankers Flood Airspace Off The California Coast For China-Focused Air Combat Exercise

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Feb 11, 2025

The second tranche of U.S. Air Force Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drones could be between 20 to 30 percent more expensive per airframe than those in the first batch.
Tankers

Second Batch Of Air Force CCA Drones Could Be 20 To 30 Percent Pricier Than The First

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jan 10, 2025

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have provided an even better look at the previously highly secretive remote vision system that is central to the operation of the Israeli Air Force’s critical Boeing 707 tanker fleet. TWZ has previously looked at this system — used by the boom operator to see what is happening at the rear of the aircraft while connecting the boom with the receiving aircraft — but the actual operator interface has, as far as we know, never been seen in such detail.
KC-46

Our Best Look So Far Inside Israel’s Once Secretive 707 Tankers

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jan 7, 2025

Bill Kennedy, 436th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron transit alert, marshals a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III at Dover Air Force Base, Del., April 26, 2015. The aircraft is loaded with 69 members of the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue Team, their supplies and equipment, and six K-9s, to assist Nepal with rescue operations after the country was struck by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake.
KC-46

New Jersey Base Confirms Multiple Past Drone Incursions… By Contraband Smugglers

By Thomas Newdick, Howard Altman

Posted on Dec 18, 2024

KC-135 AI Copilot testing
KC-135

KC-135 Tanker With Artificial Intelligence Copilot Set To Fly Next Year

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Nov 12, 2024

Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works advanced projects division has put forward a new vision for a stealthy pilot-optional aerial refueling tanker.
Tankers

Skunk Works’ Latest Stealthy Tanker Concept Revealed

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Nov 7, 2024

The future outlook for the U.S. Air Force's top modernization efforts is even more uncertain after the service's civilian boss openly questioned the affordability of buying any combination of new stealth 'fighters,' advanced aerial refueling tankers, and highly autonomous drones.
Tankers

Crisis Brewing Over Air Force’s Future Air Dominance Plans Which It Cannot Afford

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Nov 6, 2024

Aerial photo taken of MacDill Air Force Base on January 29, 2021. MacDill AFB includes 28 associate units from all brances of service to include U.S. Central Command, U.S. Special Operations Command and the 927th Air Refueling Wing. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Tiffany Emery)
KC-135

Hurricane Milton Could Be Sum Of All Weather Fears For MacDill Air Force Base

By Howard Altman

Posted on Oct 9, 2024

KC-10 Extender tail #86-0036 performs its final mission as it heads of to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., following a July 13 ceremony at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., that marked the first retirement of 59 Extenders intended for eventual replacement by the KC-46A Pegasus. A total of three KC-10s from the Air Force’s Backup-Aircraft Inventory were congressionally approved for retirement during Fiscal Year 2020. As KC-10s are retired, the 309th AMARG will continue to support the remaining Extenders with spare parts as they are flown for several years while the KC-46A Pegasus is integrated into Air Mobility Command’s Total Force tanker enterprise. For nearly four decades, the KC-10 has helped secure global reach for America, providing in- flight refueling to U.S. and coalition aircraft, from Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm to Operation Inherent Resolve. The KC- 10 is flown from JBMDL by both the 305th AMW and its associate Air Force Reserve unit, the 514th AMW.
KC-10

Final KC-10 Extender Tanker Flies Into Retirement

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Sep 26, 2024

The U.S. Air Force is pushing ahead with experimentation that could lead to the transformation of KC-135 tankers into optionally crewed aircraft, as well as the development of other autonomous aerial refueling capabilities. U.S. military interest in autonomous airlifters, an area where China has been notably surging forward in the past few years, is also growing.
KC-135

Work Toward KC-135 Tankers That Fly Themselves, Uncrewed Cargo Aircraft Pressing Ahead

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Sep 18, 2024

The U.S. Air Force's still evolving requirements for a next-generation aerial refueling 'system of systems' will directly impact the service's reassessment of plans for a new sixth-generation stealth 'fighter.' The Next-Generation Air-Refueling System (NGAS) effort will also inform work on a second tranche of Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) drones.
Tankers

Future Stealth Tanker Plans Tied To NGAD 6th Generation Fighter’s Fate

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Sep 16, 2024

The U.S. Air Force recently awarded contracts to two companies for work on SHARK 'buddy store' podded aerial refueling systems able to work with aircraft that use the boom method to get gas in flight.
KC-46

Aerial Refueling Boom Pods That Could Go On F-15s In The Works

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Sep 3, 2024

KC-46 and F-15E had an incident resulting in the loss of the tanker's boom
KC-46

Audio Reveals Details Of KC-46 And F-15E Refueling Incident That Broke The Tanker’s Boom Off

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Aug 23, 2024

A brief video clip of a U.S. Navy E-2D Advanced Hawkeye linking up with an Air Force HC-130J tanker somewhere over in the Middle East calls attention to how this aircraft has become even more of a force multiplier with the added ability to refuel in flight.
Tankers

E-2D Refueling From HC-130 Over Middle East Highlights The Hawkeye’s Potential

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Aug 7, 2024

Three German Eurofighter EF2000s have completed a record-breaking endurance flight for the multirole fighter. Remaining in the air for a total of 10 hours 31 minutes, the trio of combat aircraft flew from Japan to Hawaii today, supported by aerial refueling tankers that included KC-135 Stratotankers operated by private aerospace firm Metrea, a contractor-owned and operated aerial refueling business that recently acquired of 14 KC-135s from the French Air and Space Force.
KC-135

German Eurofighters Make Record-Breaking Flight With Help From Private Aerial Refueling Company

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jul 27, 2024

Private aerospace firm Metrea has bought France's entire fleet of KC-135 tanker in a major new bet on contractor aerial refueling services.
KC-135

All Of France’s KC-135 Tankers Bought By Private Aerial Refueling Company Metrea

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jul 10, 2024

The US Air Force's Air Mobility Command has outlined a critical need to give its fleets new counter-drone defenses they can use wherever they go.
Tankers

Built-In Counter-Drone Defenses Sought For Air Force Transports, Tankers

By Eric Tegler, Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jun 29, 2024

Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works has released a new rendering of a stealth tanker concept amid uncertainty about the U.S. Air Force's future tanker plans.
Tankers

New Skunk Works Stealthy Tanker Concept Unveiled

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on May 13, 2024

Newly-painted Kazakhstan Air Force A400M pre-delivery
Tankers

Paint Job On Kazakhstan’s New A400M Looks Like A ‘Soviet’ Plane In A Bond Film

By Oliver Parken

Posted on Apr 15, 2024

The USAF wants $1.5B in spare parts it doesn't have in its budget.
KC-135

Hundreds Of Air Force Aircraft Risk Grounding Without Extra $1.5B Spare Parts Infusion

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Mar 28, 2024

KF-21 Refueling for the first time from a tanker
Tankers

South Korea’s KF-21 Next Generation Fighter Begins Tanker Trials

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Mar 19, 2024

CF-5 refuels from a 707 tanker.
Tankers

F-5 Pilot’s Double Engine Flameout While Refueling Over The Atlantic

By Dan McWilliams

Posted on Mar 5, 2024

The US Air Force will test new autonomous capabilities for its KC-135s intended, at least initially, to help reduce operator workload. The service is also still planning to conduct a test of the KC-135 as an aerial launching platform for drones.
KC-135

Tests Planned For KC-135s That Can Fly Themselves, Act As Drone Motherships

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Feb 16, 2024

Metrea Aerospace became the first to use a private-owned tanker to refuel U.S. aircraft tactical jets when one of its KC-135s topped-up a pair of A-10 Warthog ground attack jets last year.
KC-135

A-10 Warthogs Have Refueled From A Contractor’s KC-135 Tanker

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jan 9, 2024

Beale AFB executes an elephant walk as the U-2's service approaches its end.
KC-135

U-2 Dragon Lady Spy Planes Execute A Bittersweet Elephant Walk

By Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Jan 7, 2024

A commercial KDC‐10 tanker aircraft refuels a U.S. Air Force F‐16 Fighting Falcon from the 51st Fighter Wing, enroute Commando Sling 23 at Paya Lebar Air Base, Singapore, November 6, 2023.
Tankers

Private Aerial Refueling Tankers Are Now Gassing Up USAF Fighters

By Oliver Parken

Posted on Nov 15, 2023

A U.S. Air Force KC-135 tail number 58-0109 with the nickname “Phantom 109” assigned to the Iowa Air National Guard is in front of the main hangar in Sioux City, Iowa on October 16, 2021. Crew Chiefs recently added nose art to the aircraft depicting a phantom riding along on the aircraft boom.
KC-135

“The Phantom” Is The Air Force’s Haunted KC-135 Tanker… Almost

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Oct 31, 2023

Lockheed Martin says it no longer plans to compete for a contract to replace a portion of the Air Force's KC-135 tanker fleet.
KC-135

Lockheed Bails On KC-135 Tanker Replacement Competition

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Oct 23, 2023

KC-10 departs PSAB
KC-10

KC-10 Extender Has Flown Its Last Combat Mission

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Oct 5, 2023

The US Air Force's Air Mobility Command is still pushing ahead with an idea to turn its KC-135 aerial refueling tankers into drone motherships.
KC-135

KC-135 Tankers Being Eyed For Drone Launcher Role

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Sep 11, 2023

The US Air Force has selected JetZero to design and build a demonstrator aircraft with a blended wing body, or BWB, configuration that could serve as the basis for future aerial refueling tankers and cargo planes.
Tankers

Blended Wing Body Demonstrator Jet Contract Awarded By Air Force (Updated)

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Aug 16, 2023

TANK AT ARMY-2023
Tankers

‘Cope Cages’ Go Mainstream At Russia’s Arms Bazaar

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Aug 14, 2023

Next generation airlift family of systems
Tankers

New Airlifters Of All Sizes May Be Needed For Future China Fight

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jul 24, 2023

US Air Force aircraft have been refueled by private tanker planes for the first time ever.
KC-135

Private Aerial Refueling Tanker Has Gassed Up An Air Force Plane For The First Time

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jul 13, 2023

100 years aerial refueling
Tankers

Century Of Aerial Refueling Celebrated By Tanker Flyovers Across U.S.

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jun 27, 2023

LMXT_refueling F-35
Tankers

Lockheed No Longer Looking To Offer Airbus A330 Tanker On Contract Basis

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Jun 7, 2023

A310 MRTT autonomously controls and guides a DT-25 drone in flight
KC-30 MRTT

Airbus’s Drone Aerial Refueling Demo Is A Glimpse Of Air Combat Future

By Emma Helfrich, Tyler Rogoway

Updated on Mar 31, 2023

KC-135 stratotanker
KC-135

KC-135 Tankers To Finally Get Fuel-Saving Winglets

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Mar 28, 2023

C-130 no markings AMC
Tankers

Air Mobility Command’s Fleet Of Tankers, Cargo Planes Go Incognito

By Oliver Parken

Posted on Mar 4, 2023

KC-46 Airfield Marking Pattern
KC-46

KC-46 Expands Its Austere Airfield Capabilities, Could Include Roadways In Future

By Emma Helfrich

Posted on Mar 4, 2023

T-62M Russia New Optical Sight
Tankers

Ukraine Situation Report: Russian Tanks Reverting To Cold War Thermal Sights

By Stetson Payne

Posted on Feb 26, 2023

Air Force Says It Needs More Survivable Tankers By 2040
Tankers

Air Force Says It Needs More Survivable Tankers By 2040

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Feb 1, 2023

Boeing stealth transport tanker
Tankers

Stealthy Tanker-Transport Aircraft Concept Unveiled By Boeing

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jan 26, 2023

New Nuke-Sniffing Jet Flies Off South America On First International Mission
KC-135

New Nuke-Sniffing Jet Flies Off South America On First International Mission

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Jan 19, 2023

KC-46 Pegasus Tanker Flies With A Single Pilot At The Controls
KC-135

KC-46 Pegasus Tanker Flies With A Single Pilot At The Controls

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Oct 29, 2022

NGAD tanker lockheed
Tankers

New Next Generation Air Dominance ‘Fighter’ Renderings From Lockheed

By Thomas Newdick, Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Oct 26, 2022

KC-390 Millennium tanker
Tankers

KC-390 With A Boom Could Be The Agile Tanker The Air Force Needs

By Emma Helfrich, Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Sep 21, 2022

KC-135 pacific B-1b
KC-135

KC-135 Boom-Down Emergency Landing Was Result Of Incident With B-1

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Sep 14, 2022

KC-46 Tanker Spotted With Puzzling Whitewashed Belly (Updated)
KC-46

KC-46 Tanker Spotted With Puzzling Whitewashed Belly (Updated)

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Aug 26, 2022