Orel escribió:Resumen ya conocido de cisternas en el mundo occidental:Next Generation Air Refuelling System (NGAS) [antes KC-Z], clean-sheet stealth design with its introduction targeted during the 2030s.
The USAF had originally planned to acquire a so-called “bridge tanker”, also known as KC-Y, to fill the gap until NGAS deliveries began in 2040. Currently, Lockheed Martin is the leading –and so far only– active contender for a KC-Y need with its LMXT platform, a development of the A330 MRTT.
However, it is now uncertain if a KC-Y acquisition will happen, with the service’s NGAS target date having been accelerated into the early 2030s. Revealed by air force secretary Frank Kendall: “We need to move to a next-generation tanking capability that is resilient enough to survive against a pacing challenge.” Kendall stressed the service’s desire to move away from acquiring commercial aircraft-derivative tankers and instead develop purpose-built military assets. As a result, USAF leaders are now leaning toward the acquisition of additional KC-46As [KC-X] to fulfill the bridge requirement, rather than committing to a KC-Y process. If confirmed, such a strategy could ultimately result in an additional 75 KC-46A orders for Boeing.
...As of early June, there were 56 A330 MRTTs in service around the world, with an additional 12 on order. The model is currently operated by Australia, France, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, the UK and by a consortium of NATO nations (MMF), and is on order for Canada, Brazil and Spain.
...Boeing has to date delivered 69 KC-46As of 179 to the USAF, and two examples to Japan, from a four-unit acquisition. Boeing is under contract to deliver a Block 1 communications enhancement to the USAF. “Aerial refuelling of course, but the ability to participate in the network for the air force".
...With the US Air Force (USAF) advancing its agile combat employment (ACE) ambitions with an eye to countering future near-peer foes, its likely need to operate forward-deployed tankers has not gone unnoticed.
In March, US prime contractor L3Harris responded to a USAF request for information by offering a proposed development of Embraer’s KC-390.
The result of an industrial partnership announced in September 2022, the so-called Agile Tanker would support operations from dispersed and potentially austere landing strips such as those found on islands throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Under the ACE construct, combat assets and personnel will remain mobile and capable of rapid relocation, protecting them against the threat of long-range missiles.
Embraer has so far delivered six KC-390s to the Brazilian air force from a 19-unit order, and has won deals to supply two examples to Hungary and five each to the Netherlands and Portugal.
The USAF already operates Lockheed Martin C-130J-variant tactical transports as combat tankers
"Nosotros, comprar aparatos fabricados en otros paises ? Que somos, EUROPA ?"
Si es que no hay cosa peor que estar cogido por los huevos por airbus....
