PLA reveals sub-orbital drone carrying SCRAMjet bomber with unlimited range and capable of docking with their space station days after sixth US carrier struck
Based on the fuel levels, airspace capacity and flight duration of each aircraft, the system generates the most optimised pairing plans between tankers and fighters, issuing recommendations to pilots.
“The ‘smart task assignment’ programme recommends scientifically sound and highly efficient solutions, enabling the maximisation of aerial refuelling effectiveness,” the PLA Daily quoted Yu He, an Air Force officer involved in the programme, as saying. In the past, the pairing process was like a “blind choice”, Yu said. Tankers would simply loiter passively in the air, while fighters tended to select the nearest available tanker. This often created operational bottlenecks, with some tankers becoming overloaded as others nearby remained idle.
“The old random refuelling-receiving model had become a critical weakness limiting combat effectiveness and was ill-suited to the demands of future battlefields,” the report said. “Thanks to the new system, aerial refuelling efficiency has been further improved.” The KC-135 crash last Thursday killed all six crew members. The Pentagon denied the involvement of any hostile or friendly fire, although a pro-Iranian militant group claimed responsibility for downing the aircraft.
Initial reports suggested the crash resulted from a mid-air collision with another KC-135 that sustained damage but landed safely.
The US KC-135 fleet, built in the 1950s and 1960s, is too old and poorly maintained, Du Wenlong, a military analyst, said on Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. “Frequent long-distance deployments to hotspot regions place additional stress and fatigue on the aged airframes as well as the crew, which could lead to certain issues,” he said. Du, a retired PLA senior colonel, cited a 1966 incident in which a KC-135 collided with a B-52 that was receiving refuelling in-flight, resulting in the bomber dropping its hydrogen bombs and triggering radioactive contamination.
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