The U.S. Air Force is the most powerful air force in the world, and it has a plethora of advanced fighters, but that's not all its strengths. Another important factor that has been overlooked by the U.S. Air Force is its fleet of tanker aircraft. A tanker is an aircraft that refuels fighters by providing fuel to them, thereby extending their range and stay in the air. Without the support of tankers, the strength of the US Air Force will be greatly reduced, and it may not even be able to complete some long-range combat missions. In contrast, the U.S. Air Force is far ahead of other countries in terms of the number and performance of tankers, which is a unique advantage.
According to the 2023 global firepower data released by the United States, the United States has a total of 568 tankers, which is the most in the world and 25 times that of the second place Saudi Arabia, which has only 22. France and Russia have 19 each, and Israel and Singapore have 11 each. China has only 4 aircraft, of which 3 are Il-78 and 1 is a Y-20 modification. There are also some Bomber-6s, but the United States ** considers them too backward to be counted.
The H-6 has only 18 tons of fuel, while the Il-78 and Y-20 both have more than 65 tons, and the H-6 is much slower than the American tankers, so the United States considers them not worth mentioning. In fact, there is more than one Y-20, according to China's **report, there are already more than a dozen, but the United States ** did not update the data in time. However, even so, the number and performance of China's tankers are far inferior to those of the United States.
Many people may not understand why tankers are so important, and isn't it fighter jets that are the main force in air combat?In fact, in modern air combat, fighters are only one component, there are also AWACS aircraft, electronic warfare aircraft and other support aircraft. One of the important support aircraft is the tanker, which can greatly improve the combat capability and maneuverability of fighters. Let's take a closer look.
The design of an aircraft needs to strike a balance between weight and range, and to fly farther, more fuel is needed, but fuel in turn adds weight, which affects the load and performance of the aircraft. Before the advent of in-flight refueling, airplanes were limited by their fuel capacity, and if they wanted to fly farther, they had to sacrifice some ammunition or other equipment. With tankers, it is possible to break this restriction and allow fighters to take off with enough ammunition and a small amount of fuel, and then refuel in the air to increase their combat range. At the same time, tankers also allow fighters to take off and land on shorter or simpler runways, since they do not need to carry a lot of fuel, which reduces their weight and shortens their take-off distance. Once lift-off, tankers can refuel them.
In the case of China's Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, due to the high altitude and thin air, it is difficult for fighters to take off with a full load, which reduces their combat capability and puts them at a disadvantage if they encounter enemy fighters taking off from low altitudes. With the help of tankers, Chinese fighters can take off with less fuel and more ammunition, and then refuel in the air to increase their endurance, thus making up for the lack of combat power. And for the U.S. Air Force, its fleet of tankers could give its fighters the ability to fight globally. For example, fighter jets of the US Air Force can take off from ** and, with the support of tankers, fly over two to three thousand kilometers to the Taiwan Strait and other places for operations. Of course, increasing the load and range of the fighter is only one of the advantages of a tanker.
Another advantage of tankers is that they can improve the flight performance, or maneuverability, of high-performance fighters. To achieve high flight performance, they need to consume a lot of fuel in a short period of time, which significantly reduces their range and stay in the air. In the case of the F-16 fighter, its internal fuel is only 3175 kg, but when it turns on afterburner and flies at maximum speed, it consumes 22680 kg of fuel per hour, that is, if you do not take into account the return home, it flies at the maximum speed for only 8 times3 minutes. If you take into account the return home and combat time, it can only fly at maximum speed for about 4 minutes. The maximum speed not only allows the F-16 to quickly reach the battlefield, but also allows it to dodge enemy air-to-air missiles or launch a surprise attack on the enemy.
Generally speaking, when an F-16 arrives on the battlefield at normal speed, it will only have about 30 minutes of fuel before returning home, that is, if it exceeds this time, it will crash because it runs out of fuel unless there is a tanker nearby to refuel it. Or it can only withdraw from the battle early and return home early, but this can lead to the defeat of the air battle. With tankers, it is possible to give fighters more time to fight.
To sum up, a tanker can give a fighter a higher load, a longer range, a longer stay in the air, higher flight performance, etc. In other words, tankers are a true manifestation of the strength of the Air Force. With the help of those 568 tankers, the fighters of the US Air Force are almost invincible in the world, and no country can match them in long-range combat.
Fortunately, we have the YF-20, which can close the gap between us and the US Air Force, and the YF-20 has once again closed the gap between the two when the performance of the fighter is basically close to that of the US Air Force. Of course, we also have our own advantages in the face of the US Air Force, and that is the P-15 and PL-21 ultra-long-range air-to-air missiles. In particular, the PL-21, which has a range of 300,400 km, is designed to strike enemy tankers and AWACS aircraft and other rear support aircraft, so if the US Air Force confronts us, its fleet of tanker aircraft will not be able to play its maximum role.
In short, tankers are an important manifestation of the strength of the Air Force, and the U.S. Air Force's fleet of tankers is one of its secrets**, which allows its fighters to have stronger combat capabilities and maneuverability. However, we should not underestimate our own air force, we have our own YF-20, we also have ultra-long-range air-to-air missiles, we also have our own strategy and tactics, we also have our own confidence and courage, we also have our own country and nation, we also have our own ideals and beliefs, we also have our own history and future, we also have our own honor and responsibility, we also have our own dreams and hopes, we also have our own strength and wisdom, we also have our own pride and dignity, we also have our own love and peace, we also have our own air force, our air force, our prideļ¼