The Air Force makes it clear in the just-released tanker replacement RFI that any potential candidate should not only handle aerial refueling but also secondary missions, such as cargo and passenger hauling, aeromedical evacuation, and command, control, communications, and computer augmentation. (The latter capability was advocated by former Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper, who wanted to use tankers loitering over a combat area to provide an additional comm node.)
A U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber flew from Europe across the Middle East to the Persian Gulon July 25 in a 32-hour flight, as conflicts continued to roil the area with U.S. troops coming under attack in Iraq and Syria on July 25 and July 26, U.S. officials told Air…