USAF Chief of Staff on the KC-46A debacle - with n
Post# of 2306
USAF Chief of Staff Gen David Goldfein told Senate legislators March 3, 2020 the service would not use the new KC-46 tanker unless absolutely necessary to fight a powerful adversary:
“If we go to a high-end contingency, we will put every KC-46 we have into the fight,” Goldfein said of a conflict with a country like Russia or China. “We won’t use it for day-to-day operations, but it will be made available for a contingency.”
Contractorization of a large element of the USAF tanker replacement programs KC-X, KC-Y and KC-Z - of which KC-46A was going to be KC-X and possibly KC-Y if successful - seems ever more likely with each passing day.
The RAF led the way with the entire contractorization of its tanker requirement by awarding a $3 Billion contract in 2008 to Airtanker UK to provide 14 aircraft and all supporting infrastructure for 27 years.
The aircraft are crewed by a mixture of RAF aircrew and Airtanker UK personnel as uniformed RAF Sponsored Reserves.
Aircraft over and above those need for day-to-day operations are leased out for commercial operations.
The state-of-art aircraft used is the A330-MRTT Voyager - the aircraft that won the original USAF contract before US vested political interest during the catastrophic for defense Obama years screwed everything up and directed the competition be re-run with changed parameters favoring Boeing. We all know how well that worked out with problems ahead for the next 25 > 50 years.
http://www.defense-aerospace.com/article-view...tract.html
https://vimeo.com/77795410
https://vimeo.com/107464072
https://vimeo.com/77794320
https://vimeo.com/99521160
https://vimeo.com/139570722
This is the sort of operation Airbus might bid to US TRANSCOM for and - while waiting for new aircraft to be built - subcontract to all the smaller existing operators like Omega and $TMPS - or buy them out.
Alternatively, Omega and $TMPS could bid as they are, and then grow over time buying new aircraft one at a time over the next 25 years as and when they can afford them from operating profits - and or buy ex-military tankers from other air forces as they get their new A330-MRTTs.
Tempus Applied Solutions Holdings, Inc. (TMPS) Stock Research Links
A very apposite motto for those who trade successfully in the OTC market..
All posts are my opinion - trade at your own risk.