Rand Corporation, Aerial refueling tankers play a critical role in U.S. military and national security strategy, enabling the United States to deploy air power overseas in a timely way and to operate effective homeland defense air patrols. The KC-135 fleet, which provides about 80 percent of U.S. aerial refueling capability, is nearing 50 years of age and has exhibited some technical difficulties and increased costs of operation.
The total cost of both operating the KC-135s until they are retired and acquiring and operating their replacements is in the $200 billion range over the next half century. Thus, the decisions of what replacement systems to acquire and when to recapitalize the KC-135 fleet have major implications for U.S. national security and the national budget.
In 2004, the Department of Defense (DoD) directed the Air Force to undertake an analysis of alternatives (AoA) for KC-135 recapitalization. RAND Project AIR FORCE (PAF) was chosen to lead the research effort. The AoA addressed the cost-effectiveness of a wide range of alternatives, including a large number of replacement systems and schedules. In this AoA, the most
US bomber joins air drill with South Korea, Japan
South Korea, Japan, and the United States on Sunday conducted a joint air drill involving a heavy bomber, Seoul's military...
