급유기 미 공군, 공중급유기 보유 대수 감축을 원함 & KC-46은 거의 모든 항공기에 대한 재보급이 가능

[위종민]

미 공군이 공중급유기 최소보유한도를 479에서 455기로 줄일 수 있도록 미 의회에 요구할 예정이라고 합니다. 또한 KC-46은 현재 미수송사령부 임무 중 97%의 항공기에 재급유하는 것을 인가받았습니다. 

현재 보유한도인 479기는 2018년 전쟁 발발시 공중급유기의 최소 요구수량에 대해서 연구한 미 수송사령부 연구에 기반해 통과된 2019  National Defense Authorization Act에 따라 정해진 것으로, 2021년 말 현재 미공군은 공중급유기 490기를 보유중입니다. 

KC-Z 공중급유기 도입에 앞서 브리지 용도로 개발될 예정이었던 KC-Y 급유기 경쟁입찰을 지속할 지 불투명하며, KC-Y 계획을 취소시킨다면 KC-10과 KC-135를 대체하기 위해 KC-46을 추가 구매할 것이라고 합니다. 

KC-46은 리모트 비전 시스템 등의 각종 불량에도 불구하고 보잉과 미공군은 문제를 해결하기 위해 노력하고 있으며, 미공군이 보유하고 있는 거의 모든 항공기에 대한 공중급유가 가능해지는 날이 머지 않았다고 하네요. F-35B/F-35C 재보급 인가를 획득한 상황이며, 최근 B-1B, C-135 계열기, E-8 JSTARS, EC-130H 컴파스 콜, KC-10 및 P-8에 대한 인가도 받았다고 합니다. 그 외 지난 4월 스페인 공군의 EF-18 호넷(FA-18A/B)에 대한 공중급유도 성공적으로 실시했다고 합니다. 

https://www.defensenews.com/air/2022/06/01/us-air-force-wants-to-lower-the-number-of-tankers-required-in-its-fleet/

US Air Force wants to lower the number of tankers required in its fleet

US Air Force wants to lower the number of tankers required in its fleet

By Stephen Losey Jun 2, 04:54 AM

5-6 minutes

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A KC-46 Pegasus refuels an F-15C Eagle while an F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-15C fly alongside over the Gulf of Mexico on Nov. 18, 2021. The Air Force will ask Congress to trim the minimum number of tanker aircraft it is required to keep in its fleet. (Staff Sgt. Betty R. Cheval‎ier/U.S. Air Force)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force’s top civilian said Wednesday the service is eyeing a 5% cut in the minimum number of aerial refueling tankers it is required to keep in its fleet.

And Air Mobility Command announced later that day that the KC-46A Pegasus tanker is now approved to refuel about 97% of aircraft flown during U.S. Transportation Command missions.

During an event at the Heritage Foundation think tank, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said the service plans to ask Congress for permission to cut its tanker fleet requirement from a minimum of 479 refueling aircraft to 455.

Congress set that 479 requirement when it passed the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, which was based on a TRANSCOM study from 2018 that found that number to be the minimum fleet size required if war broke out. At the end of 2021, the Air Force had about 490 tankers in its fleet.

Kendall said a tanker capacity of at least 455 would be “adequate” to respond to a threat from China, which the military considers the United States’ current pacing challenge, as well as other missions. But as the Air Force closely considers its priorities in a tough fiscal environment, the service “can’t do everything all the time,” he explained. And he warned the service’s ability to respond to multiple major crises at once may be tested.

“Given the threats that we face, the idea that we can do a major war and a major contingency simultaneously is a stretch,” Kendall said.

The Hudson Institute said in a November 2021 study that the Air Force’s refueling capacity had become brittle and aged, and had little headroom to take on new missions. The study said this endangers the nation’s ability to sustain combat against a major adversary if war broke out.

Kendall also said the Air Force is growing more concerned that tankers may faced an increased threat of being shot down in combat. How to design a more combat-survivable tanker is one of the key questions the Air Force is asking as it starts to envision what its future KC-Z tanker should look like.

But, Kendall said, that’s still an open question and the Air Force hasn’t gotten very far on finding an answer.

He also reiterated that the Air Force has become “much less confident” that it will hold a competition for the KC-Y bridge tanker, which will pave the way for the service’s next-generation KC-Z. If the service doesn’t hold a KC-Y competition, it would buy more KC-46 Pegasus aircraft from Boeing while retiring older KC-10 and KC-135 tankers.

Kendall praised the KC-46 as a major “night-and-day” improvement over the KC-46. He acknowledged the program has had problems, including with its faulty original remote vision system, and noted aircraft-maker Boeing has “lost a huge amount of money on the program so far.”

But Kendall said the Air Force and Boeing are working their way through the KC-46′s problems, and the service is on a path to being able to handle all the aircraft that need aerial refueling.

More missions for the KC-46

Air Mobility Command announced after Kendall’s event that its top leader, Gen. Mike Minihan, on Tuesday approved the seventh interim capability release mission set for the Pegasus.

The KC-46 is now approved to refuel the F-35B and F-35C fighter jets during TRANSCOM-tasked missions, AMC said. The latest mission set also cleared the Pegasus to refuel the B-1B Lancer, C-135 variants, the E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System, the EC-130H Compass Call, the KC-10 Extender and the P-8 Poseidon on TRANSCOM missions.

“Credible and reliable KC-46A tanker capability is now available to our joint and international partners,” Minihan said.

A year ago, the commander said, the Pegasus was not yet cleared to refuel aircraft during any TRANSCOM missions. That changed in July 2021, when the first interim capability release clearing it to refuel aircraft with its centerline drogue system was released.

One month later, the KC-46 had been OK’d to refuel the B-52 Stratofortress, C-17 Globemaster and other Pegasus aircraft with its refueling boom during TRANSCOM missions.

More aircraft were incrementally added in the months that followed. Before Tuesday, the KC-46 could refuel 85% of the aircraft it needed to on TRANSCOM missions.

The KC-46 conducted its first operational refueling of an international allied aircraft in April, with the refueling of Spanish EF-18 Hornets during an exercise at Moron Air Base in Spain, AMC said. The KC-46 was already authorized to refuel F-18s from Canada and Spain, and it is now approved to refuel planes from Finland, Italy, Australia, Malaysia and Switzerland.

A KC-46 from the 22nd Air Refueling Wing at McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas also conducted a 24.2-hour flight May 5-6, which is the longest duration flight in AMC history.

Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter at Defense News. He previously reported for Military.com, covering the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare. Before that, he covered U.S. Air Force leadership, personnel and operations for Air Force Times.

[백선호]

"combat-survivable tanker"라는 것이 과연 가능할 것인지 의심스럽습니다.

[위종민]

저도 기사를 보면서 대체 저게 뭔 개념이고, 무슨 방법으로 구현 가능할 지 상상이 안 되더라구요.

[백선호]

2차대전 때 독일 U-보트들에게 연료와 어뢰를 재보급해 주던 "젖소(Milchkuh, milk cow)" 잠수함이 가장 비슷한 개념인 것 같은데, 이것도 물 속에 숨어 있을 때나 안전했지, 일단 물 위로 올라와 다른 잠수함에게 재보급을 할 때 공격을 받으면 매우 취약했습니다.

The milk cows were priority targets for Allied forces, as sinking one milk cow would effectively curtail the operations of a dozen attack U-boats and force them to return home for supplies. ... By the end of the war all ten had been sunk.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_XIV_submarine

[위종민]

만약 공중급유기에 스텔스 설계를 도입한다 해도 붐을 내리는 순간 레이더에 바로 탐지되고 취약해지는 건 마찬가지일 것 같습니다.