{"id":43003,"date":"2020-02-25T18:13:43","date_gmt":"2020-02-25T18:13:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/02\/25\/air-force-mulls-halt-to-tanker-retirements\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:31:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:31:43","slug":"air-force-mulls-halt-to-tanker-retirements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2020\/02\/25\/air-force-mulls-halt-to-tanker-retirements\/","title":{"rendered":"TRANSCOM head pushes back against Air Force tanker retirements"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2015 The head of U.S. Transportation Command is pushing the Air Force to rethink some of its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/federal-budget\/2020\/02\/10\/sorry-sierra-nevada-corp-and-textron-the-us-air-force-isnt-buying-light-attack-planes\/\" target=\"_blank\">controversial plans<\/a> to retire some of its older aerial refueling aircraft, and leaders inside the Pentagon are paying close attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Amid delays in fielding the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2020\/01\/28\/transcom-head-the-military-needs-to-figure-out-how-to-mitigate-kc-46-delays\/\" target=_blank>Boeing KC-46 tanker due to technical problems<\/a> and high demand for aerial refueling, TRANSCOM\u2019s Gen. Stephen Lyons testified he is making a case to the Air Force to scrap its proposal to retire 13 KC-135 and 10 KC-10 tankers in fiscal 2021. Those aircraft, Lyons said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, \u201cmust be retained.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Lyons told reporters a solution is close after meetings that included Deputy Defense Secretary David Norquist, Joint Chiefs Vice Chairman Gen. John Hyten and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re all clear eyed about the degradation to the joint force and the operational risk,\u201d Lyons said. \u201cTo the senators\u2019 questions, \u2018What do we do?\u2019 That\u2019s the big question. Whether it becomes a mark in this budget or a reprogramming action, we\u2019re attempting to retain those aircraft to mitigate that deep bathtub [in capability] that occurs with the KC-46 conversion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/breaking-news\/2019\/09\/11\/air-force-restricts-kc-46-from-carrying-cargo-and-personnel\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5704362.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">US Air Force restricts KC-46 from carrying cargo and passengers<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The KC-46 has added another critical deficiency to the list, and it&#039;s the most serious problem yet.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the hearing, Lyons fielded questions about the impact of KC-46 delays from a handful of supportive lawmakers, to include SASC Chairman Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., who said he planned to Air Force officials when they appear before the panel. Inhofe and other lawmakers pointed to affected Air Force aerial refueling wings in their states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAerial refueling as a force element is one of the most stressed element in the TRANSCOM portfolio, both for day-to-day operations and for high-end operations,\u201d Lyons told the panel, adding that because the KC-46, \u201cis not usable\u201d in an operational environment, there could be \u201ca dip in operational capability for the joint force,\u201d over as many as seven years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At one point, Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, pressed Lyons to present a detailed analysis of the capability gaps and propose a solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI want to know: what\u2019s the plan. We can\u2019t project force if we can\u2019t refuel those airplanes &#8230; For the record, I\u2019d like to see an action plan, not just a reevaluation,\u201d King said, adding, \u201cIf we have crisis and need that capacity, saying, \u2018Well, it was a complicated problem,\u2019 isn\u2019t going to cut it.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lyons agreed to return with a joint Air Force plan. Meanwhile, he said, the service has already agreed TRANSCOM would retain 28 legacy aircraft to mitigate the effects of the conversion to the KC-46. TRANSCOM has been working through shortfalls in both aircraft and aircrews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIts a very complex program for the Air Force to work and they\u2019re pushing as hard as they can with Boeing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The testimony came days after the command advocated reversing the retirements of 13 KC-135 and 10 KC-10 tankers in its list of priorities unfunded by the president\u2019s budget request \u2015 a move that would almost completely roll back the Air Force\u2019s proposal to retire 13 KC-135s and 16 KC-10s in FY21.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">TRANSCOM projected the cost to retain the 23 tankers at $110 million, and said that their retirements would create \u201ca capacity bathtub\u201d and limit options for military mobilization if military leaders were \u201cconfronted with a crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/federal-budget\/2020\/02\/10\/air-force-makes-reductions-to-b-1s-a-10s-global-hawk-drones-and-more-in-fy21-budget-request\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6071920.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Air Force makes reductions to B-1s, A-10s, Global Hawk drones and more in FY21 budget request<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Some of the Air Force&#039;s aging aircraft are getting retired, but the service abstained from divesting total fleets.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even though the Air Force is accepting deliveries of the KC-46, its leaders have made clear that the service will not utilize its newest tanker in combat until the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/breaking-news\/2019\/01\/10\/boeing-delivers-first-kc-46-but-fixes-to-technical-problems-still-years-away\/\" target=\"_blank\">Remote Vision System<\/a> \u2014 a series of cameras used to steer the boom into another aircraft\u2019s refueling receptacle \u2014 is brought up to the service\u2019s specifications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/digital-show-dailies\/air-warfare-symposium\/2020\/02\/20\/top-us-air-force-general-hopes-for-major-kc-46-fix-by-march\/\" target=_blank>Defense News reported<\/a> last week that the Air Force is hoping to have a fix in hand for the KC-46 tanker\u2019s most critical technical problem by the end of March.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The head of U.S. Transportation Command is pushing the Air Force to rethink some of its controversial plans to retire some of its older aerial refueling aircraft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":4171,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","middle-column","home"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"4":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters","left-column","home"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"5":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"6":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"7":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"}}},"categories":[7,76,8,160,29,162,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3446,3384],"class_list":["post-43003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-air","category-air-warfare-symposium","category-congress","category-daily-news-roundup","category-digital-show-dailies","category-digital-show-daily","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"UA32CW7KIJEWDHWO2PR6XEAULY","arc_canonical_url":"\/congress\/2020\/02\/25\/air-force-mulls-halt-to-tanker-retirements\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>TRANSCOM head pushes back against Air Force tanker retirements - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The head of U.S. Transportation Command is pushing the Air Force to rethink some of its controversial plans to retire some of its older aerial refueling aircraft.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"TRANSCOM head pushes back against Air Force tanker retirements\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The head of U.S. Transportation Command is pushing the Air Force to rethink some of its controversial plans to retire some of its older aerial 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