Boeing Eyes Special Ops, Tanker Applications for Blended-Wing Body
Aviation Week & Space Technology
02/23/2004, page 102
Robert Wall
Orlando, Fla.
Boeing looks to next-generation tanker even as USAF KC-767 deal remains in limbo
Alternative Future
Boeing’s 7E7 has taken the spotlight when it comes to the company’s new designs, but the aerospace giant’s military arm is betting its large-aircraft future on the ultra long-range blended-wing body (BWB).
Unlike the 7E7, the BWB concept isn’t new. Engineers have been working on the unorthodox design for several years, but the effort could be in for a significant boost. Boeing is nearing an agreement with the U.S. Air Force and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to build a large prototype, says George Muellner, who oversees the company’s Air Force activities.
Moreover, the military is considering initiating programs that could launch the BWB. The U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command is starting to seriously discuss replacing its AC-130 gunships and MC-130 Combat Talons. One of the concepts Boeing would take forward is a C-130-size BWB, Muellner suggests.
Boeing is also pushing the BWB concept for a potential air refueling tanker, which would be able to carry massive amounts of fuel and provide two permanent boom refueling stations, rather than one as in the KC-135, KC-10 or KC-767. The BWB tanker would take several years to develop and wouldn’t be available until 2015 or later, Boeing officials are quick to say. They want to dispel the idea that the new aircraft would reduce the near-term need for the Air Force to acquire KC-767s.
While company representatives are most concerned about the near-term tanker contract, the BWB is increasingly being looked on as an important element for Boeing’s long term, particularly in the tanker arena. Boeing doesn’t have any other aircraft to use for that purpose once the 767 line shuts down. To achieve the efficiency goals the company is touting for the 7E7, engineers are making structural trade-offs that mean the airliner can’t be converted into a tanker, according to several Boeing officials.
Boeing’s commercial arm eschews the BWB mainly because its large fuselage provides little or no room for cabin windows and, therefore, is seen as unattractive for passenger transport. The BWB could prove more attractive to freight carriers, which make up a big share of Boeing’s commercial customers.
There has been some notable “creative friction” on this topic for some time between the company’s commercial and military arms. When Boeing Commercial Aircraft representatives were busy talking up the Sonic Cruiser during the 2001 Paris air show, the military operation representatives made clear they thought the BWB concept was more promising. Unlike the Sonic Cruiser, the BWB concept has survived at least tentative exposure to potential customers.
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