Between the F-35A, the development of the 6th generation NGAD fighter, and the KC-Z stealth tanker program, the trajectory of the US Air Force, concerning the evolution of its combat fleet, seemed set in stone, just a year ago.
Since then, the explosion in the costs of certain strategic programs such as the Sentinel ICBM and the B-21 Raider bomber, the difficulties encountered in controlling the costs of ownership of the F-35, and the arrival of combat drones from the CCA program to deal with the Chinese technological tempo, have severely shaken this planning.
Now, the very future of the NGAD is uncertain, with the US Air Force having decided to rethink the very concept of this aircraft, which was to cost around $250 million to replace the F-22 Raptor, in order to bring it to a unit price "comparable to that of the F-35A", according to Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall.
Today, it is the turn of the stealth tanker program, designated under the code KC-Z, to be directly threatened by this overhaul of the NGAD, while the entire tactical plan of the American air war could emerge profoundly modified by the arrival of Loyal Wingmen type combat drones from the CCA program.
In this section:
US Air Force cuts KC-Y program to free up funds for KC-Z stealth tanker
In the early 2000s, the U.S. Air Force began replacing its fleet of aerial refueling tankers, which then consisted of more than 550 KC-10A Extenders, KC-130s and KC-135s, the latter of which entered service in the 60s and represented 80 percent of the fleet.
The super-program was then broken down into three successive programs of 180 aircraft over a decade each, and named KC-X, KC-Y and KC-Z. Following a competition that initially saw the Airbus A330 MRTT selected, Congress put pressure on the final choice to be the Boeing KC-46A Pegasus in 2013.
This one encountered many difficulties, leading to delays and significant additional costs, partly assumed by the American aircraft manufacturer itself. In 2019, the US Air Force launched its second program, reduced to 160 aircraft. Here again, the KC-46A Pegasus was opposed to the A330 MRTT of the European Airbus, associated for the occasion with Lockheed Martin.
In March 2023, however, the USAF announced its intention to truncate the KC-Y program to cover only 75 aircraft. It was then a question of freeing up credits and resources for the last KC-Z program, intended to design a new generation tanker.
The aim was to design a stealth tanker aircraft capable of accompanying US Air Force F-35 and NGAD fighters in contested airspace, in order to extend their operational potential in the effective zone of the fighters' weapons and systems.
NGAD program overhaul could disrupt KC-Z program needs
Recent announcements, concerning the Temporary suspension of the NGAD program, would certainly have consequences on the KC-Y and KC-Z programs, if only through the budgetary arbitrations which are currently being carried out by the US Air Force.
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