Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and China’s escalations over the Taiwan Strait have military experts and industry analysts concerned that kinetic warfare could reach more players in the imminent future.
Obviously, Kyiv is already fully engulfed in its counter-offensive to recapture territories seized in the invasion. While the U.S. and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies have aided Kyiv’s defensive efforts in the past, the recent decision to allow Ukrainian pilots to train on and potentially fly F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets may be the White House’s greatest gesture yet.
While these fourth-generation fighters will undoubtedly enhance Kyiv’s aerial capabilities over its airspace, without the inclusion of refueling tankers, the F-16s will only be able to operate for roughly half an hour in a dogfight before running out of fuel.
Many fighter platforms struggle with fuel limitations, which makes America’s top-of-the-line refueling tankers so significant.
The U.S. is miles ahead of other nations in regards to aerial refueling
According to GlobalFirePower, the U.S. military currently operates roughly 568 refueling aircraft. Comparably, Saudi Arabia possesses the second most refueling airframes- 22. Overall, the U.S. operated just under 89% of the global supply of these airframes.
Even if these numbers are slightly off, the U.S. Air Force clearly has a huge advantage in this arena. Aerial refueling, also referred to as air-to-air refueling and tanking, occurs when fuel from a military aircraft is transferred to another military aircraft including helicopters and fixed-wing jets.
As specified by the U.S. Department of Defense, “Flying booms make this possible, with the tanker flying ahead at an elevated position and the receiving aircraft flying behind and lower with a receiver. A boom operator in the tanker lowers the flying boom. Some military aircraft use a hose-and-drogue method instead of a flying boom, but the operation of both types is similar.”
For many years, America’s air superiority was largely uncontested. However, now that Moscow’s Su-57 and Beijing’s J-20 fifth-generation stealth fighters are in service, the gap in capabilities between the U.S. and its top adversaries is closing. Aerial refueling abilities gives the U.S. an edge over near-peers. Simply, America’s airframes can remain in the air longer due to its large fleet of refueling tankers.
Since these planes don’t have to land to refuel, this process also saves time. Additionally, these airframes can take off on shorter runways, since they can avoid carrying extra weighty fuel which would otherwise limit their ability to clear the end of the runway. Instead, refueling tankers can take care of these airframes once airborne.
Which refueling tankers does the U.S. currently operate?
Perhaps the most recognized refueling tanker is the KC-46 Pegasus, one of the various iterations of the C-130 Hercules which first entered service almost seven decades ago. Other tanker aircraft the U.S. operates include the HC-130, KC-130, KC-135, and KC-10.
According to Sandboxx News, the Navy has also mastered using fourth-generation F/A-18 fighters to refuel other jets. By 2026, the Navy is also expected to field the MQ-25 Stingray carrier-capable refueling drone.
Earlier this year, the Air Force disclosed that it expects its next-generation aerial refueling tanker dubbed the KC-Z to enter service by the early 2040’s.
Maya Carlin, a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin.
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