- Reaction score
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- Points
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Tactically, how does this sit with the transport people? How much protection does such a concept require?
http://www.defense-aerospace.com/cgi-bin/client/modele.pl?session=dae.17226545.1138984240.Q@OFMMOa9dUAAEcHtOA&modele=jdc_34
New RAF Tankers Set to Improve Frontline Refuelling Capabilities
(Source: UK Ministry of Defence; issued Feb. 2, 2006)
Coalition attack and support helicopters earmarked for operating in southern Afghanistan later this year will have less need to divert from frontline activity to refuel now that the RAF, along with other units of the Joint Helicopter Command, have taken delivery of new huge off-road tankers.
American-built Oshkosh ten-wheeled fuel tankers have the most impressive off-road capability of any fuels vehicle bought for the RAF. This means aviation fuel can now be delivered to aircraft at the very edge of operations instead of being restricted to metalled roads which might be up to 100 miles away.
"It’s an impressive vehicle, and the improvement in capability will be severely tested in the forthcoming Afghanistan deployment, where dirt tracks and mountain passes are the norm," said Squadron Leader Geoff Maple, Deputy Commander of the RAF’s Tactical Supply Wing (TSW), based at RAF Stafford, the first RAF unit to receive the tankers.
"Time spent away from operations by an Apache or Chinook helicopter during a critical phase of any operation could result in the initiative being lost if assets need to leave the area to refuel.
"The new 15,000-litre Tactical Aircraft Refuellers (TARs), and Close Support Tankers (CSTs) that carry 20,000 litres, combined with the Tactical Supply Wing’s impressive high-manoeuvre refuelling ethos means vital assets spend the minimum time away from where they are needed."
The MOD have bought 58 aviation fuel versions for TSW, at a cost of about £500,000 each and crews are currently being trained on Salisbury Plain.
Geoff continued: "So far they have proved themselves extremely capable of going virtually anywhere that a tank can go. Two tankers have already left the UK for Afghanistan by sea."
"The RAF learned a great deal about operational refuelling from the first Gulf conflict in 1991. 'Operation Granby' was fought in a desert and mountain environment. Bulk fuel supply in particular was largely tied to metalled roads, which restricted getting it to where it was really needed.
"As a result the MOD helped the American firm Oshkosh design two huge fuel tankers almost from scratch. It has been a successful procurement project where the Defence Logistics Organisation empowered TSW’s drivers and suppliers to test every part of the tankers, ensuring that real ‘grass-roots’ improvements were included in the final vehicles.
"They can be used for any bulk liquid, including diesel or water, but the beauty of the beast is that it delivers what you want where you want it and not be harnessed to a road system, with the inherent risks of being spotted and attacked."
Part of the design allows for the articulated truck to be armour-plated and the fuelling system allows two helicopters to take on fuel on the ground at once while their rotors are turning, another time-saving feature.
"They are far more capable than their predecessors with outstanding cross-country capability. We now have the ability to deliver aviation fuel direct to the customer, in the field of operations, instead of the customer having to divert and collect."
The 445-horsepower tankers bristle with new technology including the ability to decrease tyre pressures while on the move when more grip is needed, locking differentials, air conditioning and automatic drive systems for different surfaces such as mud and sand.
-ends-
http://www.defense-aerospace.com/cgi-bin/client/modele.pl?session=dae.17226545.1138984240.Q@OFMMOa9dUAAEcHtOA&modele=jdc_34
New RAF Tankers Set to Improve Frontline Refuelling Capabilities
(Source: UK Ministry of Defence; issued Feb. 2, 2006)
Coalition attack and support helicopters earmarked for operating in southern Afghanistan later this year will have less need to divert from frontline activity to refuel now that the RAF, along with other units of the Joint Helicopter Command, have taken delivery of new huge off-road tankers.
American-built Oshkosh ten-wheeled fuel tankers have the most impressive off-road capability of any fuels vehicle bought for the RAF. This means aviation fuel can now be delivered to aircraft at the very edge of operations instead of being restricted to metalled roads which might be up to 100 miles away.
"It’s an impressive vehicle, and the improvement in capability will be severely tested in the forthcoming Afghanistan deployment, where dirt tracks and mountain passes are the norm," said Squadron Leader Geoff Maple, Deputy Commander of the RAF’s Tactical Supply Wing (TSW), based at RAF Stafford, the first RAF unit to receive the tankers.
"Time spent away from operations by an Apache or Chinook helicopter during a critical phase of any operation could result in the initiative being lost if assets need to leave the area to refuel.
"The new 15,000-litre Tactical Aircraft Refuellers (TARs), and Close Support Tankers (CSTs) that carry 20,000 litres, combined with the Tactical Supply Wing’s impressive high-manoeuvre refuelling ethos means vital assets spend the minimum time away from where they are needed."
The MOD have bought 58 aviation fuel versions for TSW, at a cost of about £500,000 each and crews are currently being trained on Salisbury Plain.
Geoff continued: "So far they have proved themselves extremely capable of going virtually anywhere that a tank can go. Two tankers have already left the UK for Afghanistan by sea."
"The RAF learned a great deal about operational refuelling from the first Gulf conflict in 1991. 'Operation Granby' was fought in a desert and mountain environment. Bulk fuel supply in particular was largely tied to metalled roads, which restricted getting it to where it was really needed.
"As a result the MOD helped the American firm Oshkosh design two huge fuel tankers almost from scratch. It has been a successful procurement project where the Defence Logistics Organisation empowered TSW’s drivers and suppliers to test every part of the tankers, ensuring that real ‘grass-roots’ improvements were included in the final vehicles.
"They can be used for any bulk liquid, including diesel or water, but the beauty of the beast is that it delivers what you want where you want it and not be harnessed to a road system, with the inherent risks of being spotted and attacked."
Part of the design allows for the articulated truck to be armour-plated and the fuelling system allows two helicopters to take on fuel on the ground at once while their rotors are turning, another time-saving feature.
"They are far more capable than their predecessors with outstanding cross-country capability. We now have the ability to deliver aviation fuel direct to the customer, in the field of operations, instead of the customer having to divert and collect."
The 445-horsepower tankers bristle with new technology including the ability to decrease tyre pressures while on the move when more grip is needed, locking differentials, air conditioning and automatic drive systems for different surfaces such as mud and sand.
-ends-
