USAF considering making tankers take on some of the airlift burden

Tankers Could Bear Some Airlift Burden: U.S. Air Force Chief

By NICOLE GAUDIANO

Tankers could be doing more airlift missions to meet the airlift requirement, said U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper.

In an Aug. 30 meeting with reporters, Jumper said the option could work well with a mix of large and small tankers, “more in favor of the large one.”

“We might be able to adjust the number of C-17s and C-5s in the fleet if we have a tanker force that’s able to absorb the surge in air mobility,” he said.

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An interesting idea, certainly one to look into.

Actually, tankers do quite a bit of airlift now already. They don't have the capability to airdrop like the C-17, C-5, and C-130, but when there is a fighter deployment, guess what carries most if not all of the spare parts, tools, and other things that goes with them. The tankers.