Some 12 KC-135E model tankers that have been taking up space—and absorbing resources—of the Kansas Air National Guard’s 190th Air Refueling Wing in Topeka reportedly will be going to the boneyard at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., sooner rather than later. Various news reports cite Rep. Nancy Boyda (D-Kan.) as saying the Air Force would accelerate retirement of the old tankers. The 190th ARW now flies newer R models and has been keeping the E models in condition to fly should they be needed in an emergency. However, the unit complained about the lack of space at its airfield and the expense, including manhours, to keep them in a ready state. Congress, of course, has kept tight strings on the Air Force’s ability to retire older aircraft.
The stand-up of the Space Force, and now its early overhaul and the creation of a new Space Systems Command, are all about resilience: Ensuring that space capabilities, which the whole country relies on, could survive a concerted attack by a near-peer adversary. As part of that drive, a new…