We will be performing site maintenance on Tuesday, September 29 starting at 3:00am EDT / 8:00am BST and anticipate it will take approximately 1 hour. The site will be unavailable during this period. We apologize for any inconvenience.

U.S. Air Force Efforts Give Stealthy, Agile Tankers New Momentum

Brian Everstine October 01, 2025

inflight refueling — A new solicitation seeks to understand the cost of a stealth tanker that could refuel Lockheed Martin F-35s and other fighters in contested areas.

Credit: Senior Airman Robert Nichols/U.S. Air Force

The U.S. Air Force’s renewed look at the future of its aerial refueling fleet is again prioritizing stealthy, new-build aircraft—provided the service can afford them. At the same time, the Air Force plans to charge ahead with new funding to modernize its existing fleet to address a persistent...

Brian Everstine

Brian Everstine is the Pentagon Editor for Aviation Week, based in Washington, D.C.

U.S. Air Force Efforts Give Stealthy, Agile Tankers New Momentum is part of our Aviation Week & Space Technology - Inside MRO and AWIN subscriptions.

Subscribe now to read this content, plus receive full coverage of what's next in technology from the experts trusted by the commercial aircraft MRO community.

Already a subscriber to AWST or an AWIN customer? Log in with your existing email and password.

Subscribe Log in