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Old 8th Jun 2022, 05:30
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ORAC
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https://www.defensenews.com/air/2022...rization-bill/

Air Force tanker fleet cut on the table in proposed authorization bill

WASHINGTON — The Air Force would be allowed to cut aerial refueling tankers in the initial draft ofthe National Defense Authorization Act that a House Armed Services subcommittee will consider this week — though not as many as the service had hoped.

In a briefing with reporters Monday, committee aides for the HASC seapower and projection forces subcommittee said the proposed 2023 NDAA would lower the minimum number of tankers the Air Force is required to have in its fleet, from the current level of 479 to 466. The subcommittee is scheduled to mark up its section of the bill Wednesday.

A U.S. Transportation Command study in 2018 found that if war were to break out, the military would need at least 479 tankers in its fleet. Congress wrote that number into law when it passed 2019′s NDAA.….

Last week, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said at a Heritage Foundation event the service would ask Congress to lower its tanker requirement to 455, which he said would be “adequate” to respond to a threat from China as well as other missions. The proposed tanker number in the House NDAA would essentially split the difference.…

But if this provision makes it into the final version of the NDAA, it would open the door to further tanker cuts.…
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