Tanker-Force Structure: Recapitalization of the KC-135: Maxwell Paper No. 32
Lieutenant Colonel Usaf Juan C. Narvid
Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
2012
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Aerial refueling is key to the nation's global reach in response to operations in all parts of the world. As such, aerial refueling provides the bridge for air, joint, and coalition forces to deploy anywhere, any time around the world. It is important in this era of transformation that the tanker force and doctrine of aerial refueling also meet the challenges of the Air Force's task force concept of operations(CONOPS). The highly demanded tanker has the ability to affect global strike; homeland security; global mobility; space; and command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR);global response; and nuclear response. The KC-135 air-craft has been an outstanding platform for aerial refueling, and through some enhancements, it has been able to leverage some of its capabilities in airlift and communication. However, the Air Force has the opportunity with its next class of tankers to field a new tanker with capabilities that can serve all services in more demanding joint and coalition warfare of the future. In Tanker-Force Structure: Recapitalization of the KC-135, Lt Col Juan Narvid challenges air mobility warriors to de-velop a tanker-force structure that overcomes the thinking of old to launch new concepts and capabilities for the future tanker. He argues that the future of warfare will re-quire a tanker that is able to operate as a force enabler across the full spectrum of operations. This research isvery timely with the Boeing 767 being looked at as a re-placement for some of the older KC-135s. In contrast to some of the 767's capabilities, he outlines a conceptual tanker that combines airlift and aerial-refueling capabilities and is able to survive in a combat environment, and he leverages its ability to act as a platform to enhance network-centric warfare. He points out that while the "Cadillac" of all tankers may only be conceived in the minds of Airmen, the tanker of the future cannot resemble the single-role tanker of the past. In this paper, Colonel Narvid examines the chronology of the tanker and the role it has played throughout its his-tory. He argues that the next tanker must break from old capabilities, tied to a Cold War strategy, and embark on new operations and more capabilities that are able to respond to future threats. Joint warfare already capitalizes on getting the right information to the decision makers and the warrior executing the combat mission. Innovative ideas within the mobility Air Force (MAF) are providing the link for information between the two through roll-on beyond line of sight (ROBE) systems. To employ these type capabilities into a combat area, tankers may come up against asymmetric threats from an enemy willing to blunt any advantages the MAF has to offer. Colonel Narvid believes the Boeing767 improves on the capabilities of the KC-135 and that the Air Force currently needs to replace some of the olderKC-135s. However, he argues, it will not fit the bill when It comes to meeting the challenges of the future-instead, a tanker designed from the ground up should recapitalize theKC-135 flee
