Replacement Requested - And Quickly!
America's primary aerial refueling platform is so old it is
becoming too cost-prohibitive to keep, the secretary of the Air
Force told lawmakers recently.
"The KC-135 Stratotanker is one of our most serious concerns,"
Dr. James G. Roche told members of the House Armed Services
Committee during his fiscal 2004 budget request testimony.
According to Roche, mission-capable rates for the KC-135 are
down by 16 percent in the past decade. In addition, programmed
depot maintenance costs have tripled, and depot workload packages
and flow-days have more than doubled. The problem, he said, is
primarily caused by corrosion in the fuselages.
Twice As Old As The Techies Who Maintain It
The oldest KC-135s are approaching 50 years of
age, while the newest Stratotankers were delivered to the Air Force
in 1965.
"The marginal capabilities (of) the E-model tankers are becoming
too expensive to justify," he said. "Its offload capacity is only
84 percent of the R-model, and these aircraft spend almost twice as
much time in depot."
No More Retrofits
In the past, fitting them with new engines extended the
operational life of the KC-135. However, Roche said, that is no
longer an option.
"It's not a matter of re-engining because engines aren't the
problem. It's corrosion," he said. "What grabbed me was the
condition of the aluminum and other materials on these planes. When
you start peeling away these airplanes, you keep finding something
that's worse."
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper, who also testified
at the hearing, said maintainers at the depot have begun calling
the KC-135 the "battery," referring to the similar look of the
aircraft's corroded metal to that on a car battery.
"Something Needs To Be Done"
According to Jumper, moisture naturally accumulates between the
three layers of different metals in the aircraft's skin. That
moisture, over time, corrodes the middle layer, turning it to
powder.
"It's to the point that something needs to be done," Jumper
said.
The secretary said the Air Force's plan, which would have to be
approved by Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, is to retire
68 of the older KC-135Es and replace them by leasing 100 Boeing
767s.
"Our idea is, we're willing to take a risk to retire the 68
(E-models) because they're just absorbing people, move (their crews
and maintainers) to R-models because they're in much better shape,
and then aim for a steady program to replace the tankers," Roche
said.
While current economic conditions are such that Roche prefers to
lease the aircraft rather then purchase them outright, the
secretary admitted his plan is controversial.
"We think it's a good deal, but it is different," he said. "If
(it turns out) we can't lease them, then we'll start buying in a
few years. The secretary of defense agrees we need tankers -- it's
(a matter of deciding) what's the smartest way, on behalf of the
taxpayers, to get them. We have a good debate going."