Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!att!cbnews!military
From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: NATO air refueling methods
Message-ID: <11156@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Date: 6 Nov 89 05:03:59 GMT
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From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer)
>From: gandy@tellab5.TELLABS.COM (John Gandy)
> [probe-and-drogue vs. flying-boom flight refuelling]
>My question is does NATO support both methods using two types of tanker
>aircraft or is there some dual method version out there? If there are two
>tanker types operating I can imagine a horendous logistics problem should
>a conflict arise.

It *is* a nasty problem.  The historical origin is that probe-and-drogue
was a bit harder to debug, so SAC -- which was in a big hurry -- went
with flying-boom, while the rest of the world (including the USN and,
to some extent, other parts of the USAF) waited for p-and-d to be made
fully workable.  The USAF has now standardized on f-b, while
essentially everyone else uses p-and-d.  France is also at least partly
f-b by virtue of having bought US tankers.

Some tankers support either system.  There is a kludgey bolt-on p-and-d
kit for KC-135s, which lets them do p-and-d at the expense of making
it impossible for them to do f-b until you take the thing off again.
(It used to be that most 135s were committed to SAC so this wasn't a
big issue.)  I have a hazy recollection that the KC-10 has both systems.
All other tankers use p-and-d and simply don't plan on refuelling f-b
aircraft.  Everyone agrees that it would make sense to use one system,
but the USAF is too big and too self-centered to be dragged into step
with the rest of the world, and you can bet your booties that nobody
else is willing to change just to match the USAF's mistake. :-)

Technically, p-and-d probably has a modest edge over f-b.  With the
standard hardware, f-b has a somewhat higher fuel-transfer rate.  On
the other hand, p-and-d tankers can refuel up to three aircraft at
the same time (with drogues trailing from the fuselage and each wingtip
of the tanker).  Also, p-and-d hardware can be made light enough that
relatively small aircraft can carry it, as witness "buddy packs" --
big external tanks with p-and-d rigs in their tails, so one tactical
aircraft can refuel another.

                                     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
                                 uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu