PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - More KC-46A woes....
View Single Post
Old 26th Jan 2015, 13:14
  #184 (permalink)  
ORAC
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
 
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Peripatetic
Posts: 17,514
Received 1,654 Likes on 758 Posts
I can't help but think how many variants we will see of this airframe, surely not as many as the K/C/E-135, but I wonder if the miles of wiring and open archetecture will weigh in its favor to help secure future projects like replacements for AWACS, Mercury, E-4, J-STARS, VIP, W, l@ser redux, etc.
Automation and reduction in the size of electronics make it highly unlikely any airframe of this size and associated crew will be required.

The E-8 replacement is now intended to be a business jet; the USN is replacing it's NP-3D range surveillance aircraft with G550 CAEW etc. Everything points to the E3 force being replaced with similar sized aircraft in an integrated net with off-board data fusion.

So, except for the KC-Y, KC-Z competitions, I can't see it. Pax aircraft such as the C40 are more likely to be replaced with off the shelf 737 or 787 models.
ORAC is online now