Air Mobility Plan, 2008 - The Black Vault

KC-135 Roadmap
KC-135 Roadmap
OPR: AMC/A5Q
Weapon System Assessment
The KC-135 Stratotanker is AMC’s primary platform for air refueling and provides approximately
90% of the command’s air refueling capability. The aircraft provides support to receiver-capable
US, allied, and coalition military aircraft. The KC-135 enhances air refueling capabilities and
supports deployment, employment, sustainment, and redeployment of Joint forces across the full
range of military operations from nuclear warfare to normal and routine military activities. To fully
support nuclear and special operations, aircraft are equipped with additional capabilities such as
electromagnetic pulse protection and specialized communication equipment. Although not a primary
mission, the KC-135 is employed for opportune airlift and aeromedical evacuation.
The aging KC-135 fleet is undergoing modernization to extend its life cycle well into the twenty-first
century. AMC is currently pursuing a recapitalization effort with the intent to retire the aging and
maintenance-expensive KC-135E model aircraft and add a modern tanker aircraft to the inventory.
KC-135 availability has been decreasing due to maintenance and modification requirements of an
aging fleet, while overall costs continue to increase. To ensure the aircraft’s viability well into the
twenty-first century, AMC is supporting an incremental acquisition effort to extend the KC-135 as a
viable weapon system through several aircraft extension programs.
The Block 30 modification program was completed in FY02. This upgrade included Pacer CRAG
(Compass, Radar, and Global Positioning System), a comprehensive cockpit Avionics Modernization
Program that replaced most of the obsolete electromechanical cockpit instrumentation and radar with
state-of-the-art equipment and displays. The compass replacement program provided an additional
inertial navigation unit; the radar replacement program included a color weather radar and electronic
horizontal situation indicators. The modification program added a Global Positioning System (GPS)
capability with a receiver, antenna, flight management computer, smart control display units, and a data
loader. In addition, the installation included a Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System, standby
attitude directional indicator, reduced vertical separation minima (RVSM), and navigation and safety
enhancements to include a new cockpit voice recorder, flight data recorder, and emergency locator
transmitter. The RVSM modification is very significant since it provides the KC-135 unrestricted
access to all global vertical altitudes.
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OCT 07