The KC-135R and KC-135T aircraft continue to undergo life-cycle upgrades to expand their capabilities and improve reliability.
Air Combat Command operates the OC-135 as an observation platform in compliance with the Open Skies Treaty. RC-135s are used for special reconnaissance and Air Force Materiel Command's NKC-135As are flown in test programs. Through the years, the KC-135 has been altered to do other jobs ranging from flying command post missions to reconnaissance. In 2009, the last KC-135E retired from the inventory. Under another modification program, a re-engined tanker with the TF-33-PW-102 engine was designated the KC-135E. The re-engined tanker, designated either the KC-135R or KC-135T, can offload 50 percent more fuel, is 25 percent more fuel efficient, costs 25 percent less to operate and is 96 percent quieter than the KC-135A. Of the original KC-135As, more than 417 were modified with new CFM-56 engines produced by CFM-International. The last KC-135 was delivered to the Air Force in 1965. The first aircraft flew in August 1956 and the initial production Stratotanker was delivered to Castle Air Force Base, Calif., in June 1957. In 1954, the Air Force purchased the first 29 of its future 732-plane fleet. The Boeing Company's model 367-80 was the basic design for the commercial 707 passenger plane as well as the KC-135A Stratotanker. These KC-135s are capable of refueling two receiver aircraft at the same time.Īir Mobility Command manages an inventory of 396 Stratotankers, of which the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard fly 243 aircraft in support of AMC's mission. Some aircraft have been configured with the multipoint refueling system, which consists of special pods mounted on the wingtips. One crewmember, known as the boom operator, is stationed in the rear of the plane and controls the boom during in-flight air refueling.Ī special shuttlecock-shaped drogue attached to and trailing behind the flying boom may be used to refuel aircraft fitted with probes. Nearly all internal fuel can be pumped through the flying boom, the KC-135's primary fuel transfer method.
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