Sierra Nevada, BAE, Collins and GE Aerospace partner on KC-135 avionics and fuel system modernisation
US Air Force KC‑135 Center Console Refresh (CCR) effort seeks to address obsolescence issues in the aged but strategically important tanker aircraft.
A consortium of defence manufacturers is partnering on an effort to modernise key systems on the US Air Force’s Boeing KC-135 tanker fleet, which is grappling with advanced age and looming obsolescence issues.
The group includes Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), BAE Systems, GE Aerospace and RTX subsidiary Collins Aerospace. Their proposal will update the Stratotanker’s core avionics and fuel management systems, and add an autothrottle capability.
The partnership was formed in response to the KC‑135 Center Console Refresh (CCR) effort, which was launched by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) to address “significant obsolescence” in the KC-135’s fuel system core components, flight displays and integrated computing architecture, “which are nearing end of life and require substantial modernisation to meet future mission demands,” the AFLCMC says.
The CCR solution being offered by the four-company consortium will include a redesigned open-architecture flight deck, new computers and navigation systems, the autothrottle and an enhanced fuel system meant to reduce pilot workload and improve the KC-135 fleet’s operational availability.
Workshare breakdown
BAE will design the new fuel management system, which Jack Stevens, general manager of controls and avionics solutions, says will offer a “highly reliable, intuitive interface for critical mission operations”.
The fuel management system is described as a central component in the drive to improve reliability and mission readiness in the Stratotanker fleet.
Current KC-135 avionics provider Collins will provide new flight displays and computers that comply with the Pentagon’s push for open-architecture hardware and software. This will provide the “flexibility to integrate new capabilities as operational demands evolve”, says Nathan Voight, vice-president of advanced flight systems at Collins Aerospace.
GE will also contribute to the avionics refresh, bringing in systems that are currently flying on the Boeing KC-46 tanker and Lockheed Martin C-130J transport. Although best known as an engine maker, GE provides the flight management system to both of those aircraft types, which helps crews plan shorter flight paths and idle-thrust descents to reduce fuel consumption.
The KC-135 will get a new autothrottle as part of a centre console refresh being planned by the US Air Force. Source: USAF
The move to modernise the KC-135 is a sharp reversal from just a few years ago, when the USAF was looking at options to retire the Cold War-era tanker. Engineering challenges with the newer KC-46, combined with a stalled effort to develop a next-generation in-flight refuelling tanker, have left the air force heavily reliant on the KC-135.
Rather than winding down operations, these days the air force appears to be looking at ways to keep its Stratotankers flying even longer.
“As operational demands continue to grow, tanker endurance and reliability are becoming mission critical,” says TK Kubit, vice-president of SNC’s survivability, strike and C3 business unit, which is leading the four-party KC-135 CCR bid.
“By modernising one of the air force’s most strategically important platforms, our team’s combined strengths will ensure the KC‑135 is equipped for operational demands for decades to come,” he adds.
No power projection without tankers
There has been a resurgent emphasis on long-range air power in recent years, with Washington launching multiple intercontinental bombing missions to the Middle East in recent years, using land-based bombers stationed in the US and UK.
These include 2024 strikes in Iraq and Syria using Boeing B-1B jet bombers, the 2025 “Midnight Hammer” mission to hit Iranian nuclear production sites with Northrop Grumman B-2 stealth bombers, and the 2026 “Epic Fury” campaign that saw all three of the USAF’s bomber types (B-1B, B-2 and Boeing B-52H) participate.
Those types of long-range power projection missions each required a substantial amount of aerial refuelling support. Washington’s top uniformed officer, air force General Dan Caine, has described tankers as some of the most important assets in the entire American arsenal during the Epic Fury air war over Iran, topping off fighters and bombers en route to and returning from objectives
Such sorties can require the support of dozens of tankers to enable multiple bombers to complete a 30h round-trip flight from the continental US to the Middle East and back. That has forced the Pentagon to lean heavily on its KC-135s, several of which have been lost and damaged in connection with combat operations.
One jet went down in an in-flight mishap over Iraq, killing all six personnel aboard. A second KC-135 suffered significant damage during that incident, while five more were damaged on the ground by an Iranian drone strike.
At least one retired KC-135 has been pulled from long-term storage and restored to active flight status to offset the combat losses.
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