By Anne Wiskerchen

The U.S. Air Force's primary in-flight refueling tanker – the KC-135 – celebrated its 50th birthday last year. But unlike the life cycle of a typical employee, reaching that half-century milestone doesn't mean this aircraft is considering retirement any time soon.

In fact, the KC-135 – which provides support to Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps aircraft – might go down in history as one of the military's longest-serving and most dependable planes.

Generations of pilots have flown and will continue to fly this historic aircraft – thanks to the efforts put forth by Rockwell Collins employees – until its expected retirement in 2040.

Aged to perfection — The KC-135, which is the U.S. Air Force's primary in-flight refueling tanker, is receiving one of the biggest technological facelifts in tanker history. The aircraft provides support to Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps aircraft, and is one of the military's longest-serving and most dependable planes.
Rockwell Collins Image

For the soldiers who depend on the airborne refueling, aero-medical and airlift missions provided by the tanker, this is great news. But for those who operate the airplane, it presents various challenges. Much of the technology that worked well when the KC-135 launched in the 1950s isn't nearly as sophisticated as today's technology.

To ensure that United States and allied forces around the world can continue to rely on the KC-135 for years to come, the Air Force decided almost a decade ago to perform one of the biggest technological "facelifts" in tanker history.

This "facelift" involves removing some of the aircraft's avionic "age spots," and adding more than 12,000 new parts, and six miles of wire.

"We are equipping these fairly old airplanes with modernized equipment that will help crew members complete their worldwide missions, as well as comply with new and more restrictive international accuracy requirements," said William Overacker, principal account manager based at our facility in Richardson, Texas. "We want to make sure this strategic workhorse leaves for duty today with the same state-of-the-art technology available on the latest and newest aircraft."

Providing reliable communication

A retired Air Force Major General and former director of Operations for Military Airlift Command, Overacker is extremely familiar with the services this particular aircraft provides.

As a C-141 Starlifter pilot, he was on the receiving end of the tanker's refueling efforts for much of his military career, and he understands the importance of being able to fly global air routes for various combat and support missions.

"As a pilot, I could fly worldwide without having to land for service and refueling," he said. "This comes in handy when you're flying over non-friendly territory where you might not be allowed to land."

In addition to refueling efforts, tankers must also be able to communicate effectively with those on the ground and in the air. With airspace becoming increasingly congested, and the potential for human error due to language barriers and radio interference a growing concern, the Air Force knew in the late 1990s that it needed a more reliable means of communication.

That's when Rockwell Collins engineers in Government Systems began searching for a way to provide this military aircraft with the communication and navigation equipment needed to fly more independently, with less reliance on voice controlled airspace and more reliance on digitally managed airspace.

The answer – digital technology that used our company's Commercial Systems product families in the government marketplace – came in the form of one of the most dramatic content wins in our company's history.

Where there's a will, there's a way — Rockwell Collins engineers found a way to provide the KC-135 with the communication and navigation equipment needed to fly more independently. Pictured in the KC-135 GATM Systems Integration lab in Cedar Rapids are: (from left) Ken Bauer, Laurel Brown and Jason Myren.
Photo by Paul Marlow, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Employees from both Government Systems and Commercial Systems teamed up with the Air Force and The Boeing Company and, in 2003, delivered the first KC-135 production aircraft equipped with global air traffic management (GATM) technology.

"Without our technology on board, tanker crews could be denied access to preferred routes in civil airspace," said Ron Morey, manager of the KC-135 program at Rockwell Collins. "We provide software upgrades every 18 to 24 months to ensure these tankers remain compliant."

Ignoring global airspace mandates – implemented and enforced by governing bodies such as the International Civil Aviation Organization or the Federal Aviation Administration – could result in tankers flying at restricted altitudes or making route diversions. Both could potentially lead to increased fuel consumption and longer travel time to reach aircraft in desperate need of fuel.

According to Roger Drinnon, Air Mobility Command public affairs officer, GATM technology not only meets communication and surveillance needs, it also allows continued access to global airspace through improved navigation performance capabilities.

"The GATM technology now on the KC-135 meets navigation requirements through upgrades to the dual-flight management system and a second, integrated global positioning system (GPS) and inertial navigation system," said Drinnon. "We also are meeting surveillance requirements with new and upgraded equipment, which allows the aircraft to automatically transmit its GPS position to air traffic control towers."

Meeting major milestones

Four years after delivering the first KC-135 aircraft equipped with GATM technology, Rockwell Collins remains on track to complete this tanker modernization effort two years ahead of schedule.

For Morey, who retired from the Air Force in 1999 – the same year he joined our company – meeting every milestone on schedule and within budget has been extremely rewarding.

"Our team at Rockwell Collins has worked very hard to make this program successful," said Morey, who spent the majority of his 21 years in the Air Force working on the KC-135. "Similar Air Force programs have not been able to achieve what we have in this amount of time."

Although our company is the contractor for this particular upgrade program, in a rare role reversal we selected Boeing to be our subcontractor and to perform installations at its support site in San Antonio, Texas.

On-site support — Principal Program Manager Miles Bramblett says the technology Rockwell Collins is providing for the KC-135 is critical to the U.S. military. Bramblett is based at our facility in Richardson, and coordinates the delivery of various parts and products from our manufacturing facilities to where the tanker is being upgraded.
Photo by David Lawrence, Richardson, Texas

According to Miles Bramblett, principal program manager for Rockwell Collins who has been working on site in San Antonio for the past three and a half years, coordinating the delivery of various parts and products from our manufacturing facilities has helped maintain our ambitious installation schedule.

Bramblett says it currently takes workers about 60 days to finish upgrades on one airplane. The team, which works on nine to 12 airplanes at once, is currently halfway through the upgrade process and expects to deliver the final tanker in 2011.

"Because of the age of these aircraft, the technology we're providing is critical to the U.S. military," said Bramblett, who works closely with Boeing to ensure each installation goes smoothly and error-free. "What we're doing here in San Antonio is in direct support of the global war on terror.

It's serious stuff; the nature of the work on these aircraft can make a difference between taking a life and saving a life."