"Henry J Cobb" wrote:
USAF to Purchase Marines’ Vertical-Lift Fighter

http://www.jinsa.org/articles/articl...0,656,164,2407

Note the lift fan on the F-35B where the F-35A refueling-boom socket goes.

http://globalsecurity.org/military/s...craft/f-35.htm

So you need a KC-135R or KC-767 to refuel a F-35B,

The KC-10 works - the KC-767 is still on hold.

and the KC-767 can
only refuel one of these short ranged fighters at a time and only from a
safe distance to keep the airliner out of harm's way.

How many USAF fighters do you think get refueled at a time when an operator
guides the only boom on the tanker into the aircraft being refueled.
The only significant difference would be a 50% reduction in fuel transfer
rate.

Perhaps USMC KC-130Js will go back to fill up from the AF KC-767s then
forwards to refuel AF F-35Bs? ;-)

Or add two extra hose and drogue systems to the wing of new build (or
modified/updated) tankers


-HJC