One of the key programs to the future of the United States Air Force (USAF) is the Next Generation Air Refueling System (NGAS). NGAS promises to bring a low-observable tanker to the US Air Force versus the current air refuelers like the Boeing KC-46 Pegasus – with the USAF ordering 179, hoping to receive all by 2029 – and Airbus A330 Multi-Role Transport Aircraft (MRTT) variant, both of which give generous radar returns. What is and why NGAS? NGAS intends to move from conventional jetliner designs for aerial refueling tankers to a design with a lower radar return.
Gone will be the days of converting jetliners like the Boeing 707 to aerial refueling tankers like the KC-135 the author was honored to fly aboard earlier this year. Rather, as Secretary of the US Air Force Frank Kendall shared with the 2023 Airlift/Tanker Association Symposium, one of the lessons of exercises like Mobility Guardian is the need to address the anti-access threat that can target tankers. Additionally, at this year's Airlift/Tanker Association Symposium, Secretary Kendall shared concern over the increasing threat to aerial refueling platforms, stating, “We've also initiated the next generation aerial refueling system analysis of alternatives shortly thereafter, as a direct result of the increasing counter air threat to our tankers.
” That counter-air threat Secretary Kendall speaks of arguably includes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter and long-range surface-to-.