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> Minihan, who as head of Air Mobility Command Domestic acquisition politics, current USAF tanking fleet a fraction of what's needed to persecute stand off war
by dirtyid 4y ago
> Minihan, who as head of Air Mobility Command
Domestic acquisition politics, current USAF tanking fleet a fraction of what's needed to persecute stand off war outside of first island chain for air force. AF wants grab piece of pie like everyone else, and this man wants more tankers, which would take decade+ to acquire in sufficient numbers let alone by 2025.
> cited the 2024 presidential elections in Taiwan and the United States as part of his rationale
That said, actually way less stupid than Davidson Window which is capability based, i.e. by 2027 PRC should be able to take TW and hence likely will. Minihan claims on TW capability based, i.e. 2024 TW election may declare independence and compel PRC to act, ready or not.
- samstave 4y agoDont we have enough re-commisionable units in the mothball storage fleet that could more quickly be converted to tankers? Also ; fuck war.
- dirtyid 4y agoCurrent workhorse platform that can be acquired without much issue are KC46As (767s), I think US gov can scrape together estimated 50-150 additional airframes (currently ~480) that analysts think will be needed to augment PRC contingency. Which involves either bridging with more KC46As until 2040s or cleansheet Lockheed LMXT for KC-Z program. Regardless, logistics of acquiring/training expanded fleet is much longer than 2 year affair, hence the 2025 timeline is more of a sales pitch than warning.