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According to a request for information the Air Force posted online Jan. 31, the service plans to start conducting an analysis of alternatives for the next-generation air refueling system, or NGAS, in October, and wants to hear what the defense industry might have in mind for it. Industry has until March 2 to submit its responses.

The KC-Z would be the third and final stage of the Air Force’s decades-long tanker recapitalization effort.

The Air Force is now bringing on its fleet of KC-46 Pegasus tankers, which marked the first phase of the modernization, and the service is trying to figure out the right path forward for its next stage, dubbed KC-Y.

Among the options are holding a competition for KC-Y or forgoing a competition and buying more modified KC-46s. The Air Force is expected to shed more light on what it has planned as part of the 2024 budget cycle.

In addition to anticipating the KC-Z would reach IOC by 2040, the Air Force said in the RFI the tanker would need to be able to operate in contested combat scenarios.

Describing how these tankers would operate in combat, the Air Force also told industry to spell out how their aircraft would handle threats – including cyber threats – that might come in that decade, and reduce risk both for itself and the aircraft it would refuel in combat.

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John Venable, a senior defense fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said the Air Force’s RFI shows “they want everything and the kitchen sink” to be considered for the next-generation tanker.

“The Air Force is asking for the moon for the next tanker, and they would settle for something that would allow them to get a little bit closer to the threat, with a much more fuel-efficient wing body,” Venable said. “And so this blended wing concept would be a very good thought process.”

- ‘Everything and the kitchen sink:’ USAF plots new refueling tanker, DefenseNews.com, February 6, 2023.

3. The deal to raise the debt ceiling for two years to the tune of $4 trillion while minimally cutting spending passed the House, thanks to the Democratic Party support. More Democrats voted for the compromise than Republicans did, which we all saw coming, given the vocal opposition from the party's conservative wing. Even more damning were the allegations that the $4 trillion increase wasn’t a Democratic Party pitch but Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) proposal. Yet, even on the Republican side of the aisle, you had staunch conservatives disagreeing.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), one of the most prominent spending hawks, voiced his approval of the legislation, whereas Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) vehemently opposed it. Massie’s stamp of approval was key as it assured passage through the House Rules Committee, which enabled the process of bringing this bill up for a floor vote.

As Spencer wrote, at 314-117, the deal passed. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) voiced his support for the bill. Still, the fact it was passed without majority Republican Party support guarantees a motion to vacate could be considered by House conservatives. If successful, it could take the gavel away from Mr. McCarthy.

One person who was oddly quiet about the debt deal was Donald Trump. Both conservative and liberal outlets have noticed how the former president has been rather hush-hush about this fiscal showdown on the Hill (via Forbes):

While former President Donald Trump has yet to say where he stands on the deal, he previously said Republicans should refuse to lift the debt ceiling and allow the country to default unless Democrats agreed to “massive” spending cuts. “Republicans should not make a deal on the debt ceiling unless they get everything they want (Including the ‘kitchen sink’),” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “That’s the way the Democrats have always dealt with us. Do not fold!!!”

- Donald Trump Finally Shares How He Feels About the Debt Ceiling Deal, Townhall.com, May 31, 2023.

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About the author:

Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: [email protected], or raise a question for potential use in a future column.