- An aviation startup is partnering with Northrop Grumman to propose a new tanker for the Air Force.
- The tanker’s bold design resembles a stealth bomber, though it could also end up as a civilian jetliner.
- The new stealth tanker design could mark the beginning of the end for the conventional “tube and wing” aircraft design.
A new aviation company is teaming up with defense contractor leviathan Northrop Grumman to pitch a new tanker design for the Air Force, which wants a fleet of tankers that could fuel fighters and bombers near enemy lines—aircraft that are harder to detect and shoot down than traditional tankers.
JetZero’s Z-5 design, pictured in the concept art above and below, is a blended-wing body that resembles a boomerang, or B-2 stealth bomber. The aircraft is essentially one large wing, eliminating a separate fuselage and tail. The aircraft is made entirely of composites, reducing its weight, and the wingspan is close to 200 feet.
The flying wing design has several advantages over conventional tube and wing designs. It reduces weight and drag while increasing lift, making for more efficient flight. JetZero claims this means the Z-5 requires smaller engines, and that the entire package results in 50 percent less fuel burn than similar aircraft. The company also believes the aircraft will sound quieter to people on the ground, as the engines are located on top of the aircraft.
Blended wing body designs are much more space efficient than tube and wing designs, resulting in shorter planes but greater internal volume. The Z-5 is considerably shorter than the Boeing 767—which the Air Force’s latest tanker, the KC-46A Pegasus, is based on—but can carry about the same number of civilian passengers. JetZero believes the military tanker version of the Z-5 will carry twice the fuel than the KC-46A while maintaining a range of 5,000 nautical miles.
One of the Z-5’s most interesting features is a front landing gear that extends several feet on takeoff, increasing the angle of attack by six degrees. According to Aviation Week & Space Technology, this “enables the Z-5 to reach pitch attitude faster. This allows liftoff speed to be slower and reduces demand for high takeoff thrust. It also eliminates the requirement for leading-edge high-lift slats and reduces the size of the trailing-edge flaps.”
The Air Force wants to follow the KC-46A Pegasus with a stealthy tanker that can operate close to the front line, supplying fighters and bombers with fuel while staying off the enemy’s radar. The Z-5 design is stealthy: the blended design leaves few, if any, vertical surfaces for a good radar return, and the lack of a tail and vertical stabilizer will also frustrate radar operators. The placement of the engine is the least stealthy thing about the aircraft, though that could be dealt with by having a tanker version fly at higher altitudes, shielding the engines from enemy radar with the tanker’s broad fuselage.
The Air Force has a fleet of 527 tankers, including the 66-year-old KC-135 Stratotanker, the KC-10 Extender, and the new KC-46A Pegasus. Air & Space Force Magazine reports the Air Force is buying a total of 179 KC-46A Pegasus tankers and 75 “bridge” tankers that will either be the KC-46A or LMXT, a Lockheed Martin/Airbus tanker proposal. That still leaves the Air Force about 273 tankers short of its current number. While the Air Force probably won’t buy 273 stealth tankers, it likely has an appetite for at least 200 more tankers, about half stealth tankers.
Flying wing concepts have been around a long time. The tube and wing design has dominated aircraft design since before World War II, but the Z-5 and Northrop Grumman’s backing means it could be ready for a major disruption. JetZero believes its design will fly in the 2030s, right around the time the Air Force will want a stealthy tanker.