PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Northrup Grumman/EADS win USAF tanker bid
Old 21st Mar 2008, 08:01
  #219 (permalink)  
ORAC
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
 
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Peripatetic
Posts: 17,548
Received 1,683 Likes on 773 Posts
IIRC the only tankers which isolated the tanks for the receiver in order to carry a separate type was the KC-135Q/T (for the SR-71).

The down side for the conversion is that the receiver fuel now becomes pure cargo, limiting tanker range/offload flexibility, giving requirements to be able to have separate fuel dump and measuring systems etc.

I am sure it could be done if necessary - and the KC-45s greater capacity would allow the carriage of a greater combined total, retaining as much as possible of the original performance figures.
ORAC is offline