In 2011, the Air Force cut a contract with the Chicago plane-maker for 179 of the new tankers. This time Boeing, far and away the favorite of American politicians, won with its 767-based KC-46. Northrop’s Airbus-based KC-45 won the competition. The Pentagon hadn’t bought a new tanker in a generation when, in the early 2000s, it pitted Northrop Grumman NOC against Boeing for a potentially $40-billion deal to build 179 new refuelers. The tale of the KC-46 is a long and sad one. Hence the decision to install the ABMS pods on the KC-46.īut in doing so, the Air Force is betting that Boeing will get its act together and start delivering KC-46s that actually work as tankers. But if ABMS is the future, the flying branch wants to hang the new network on tankers that should be around for a very long time.
The Air Force already installs communications relays systems on some of its old KC-135s. "No member of Congress wants to lose, or stand by and silently lose, a fleet of aircraft or a capability from their state or district, which, of course translates to jobs," Deborah Lee James, the 23rd secretary of the Air Force told in 2020.A big, spacious tanker fits the bill. Its efforts, however, have been repeatedly thwarted by Congress. The Air Force statement said the "A-10 can continue to deliver massive rapid firepower with devastating effects on enemy vehicles in a contested environment," but despite the Warthog's capabilities, the Air Force has been trying to retire the plane since 2015 to free up funds for other projects. "That's a significant amount of firepower." "Against large fielded forces, A-10 formations are capable of engaging nearly 40 armored vehicles with 30 millimeter munitions," he continued. Kyle Adkison, the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron A-10C division commander, said in an Air Force press release. "A typical A-10 gun employment uses 120 rounds, which means an A-10 is capable of employing fires on nine to ten targets before exhausting its gun munitions," Maj. The A-10 Thunderbolt II, often called the "Warthog" and sometimes seen with painted teeth on its nose – is probably most famous for its GAU-8 Avenger, an impressive 30 mm cannon protruding from the nose of the plane that can fire 3,900 bullets per minute, producing a loud "BRRRRT" noise.
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