Taiwan's transport planes can be refitted as tanker aircraft

Of Taiwan's military aircraft, the C-130 transport plane can be refitted as a tanker aircraft, which can beef up the country's air defenses in the event of war, military officials said recently.

Although the Air Force has no tanker aircraft, the C-130 is spacious enough to be turned into a tanker aircraft if it is equipped with refueling equipment such as oil tanks and hoses, the officials told CNA.

"Tanker aircraft can double the in-flight operating time for combat aircraft," they said, adding that the country's warplanes can remain airborne for only two hours at most without refueling.

Among Taiwan's main combat aircraft, the U.S.-made F-16 A/B jet fighters and Mirage 2000-5s from France can both be refueled in the air, the officials added.

Meanwhile, "our military pilots -- who have been trained in the United States or France on how to operate the F-16 and the Mirage 2000-5s -- know how to refuel in the air," according to the officials.

The issue of tanker aircraft, however, is a sensitive one. With such planes, the F-16s and the Mirage 2000-5s would be seen as attack aircraft rather than defense ones.

Due to this sensitivity, which could spark concerns among neighboring countries such as China and Japan, it is unlikely Taiwan will be able to acquire such equipment from the United States, the country's main arms supplier.

The Taiwan Relations Act, enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1979 when Washington and Taipei severed ties, obliges the U.S. only to provide Taiwan with defensive arms.

USAF Readies For C-130 Engine Upgrade Tests

Flight tests of a fuel-saving upgrade to the Rolls-Royce T56 are set to begin at Edwards AFB, Calif., in July.

The modified engine will be fitted to an Air National Guard-operated Lockheed Martin C-130H and is aimed at demonstrating flying qualities data as well as verifying overall improvements in performance. Flight tests are expected to run through August.

Tom Hartmann, Rolls-Royce vice president for customer business, says flight tests mark the final qualification stage for the upgrade kit, which is attracting interest from domestic and international C-130 operators. The T56-15 Series 3.5 “enhancement” kit originally was launched in response to U.S. government calls for reduced dependence on foreign oil, and if adopted could extent the operational life of the C-130H to 2040.

Hartmann says the kit is designed to reduce fuel burn by 8% and increase overall engine life by around 10%. Alternatively, as a trade-off against the extended-life option, he adds the upgrade also can be used to generate up to 9% more power for improved hot-and-high performance. The overall performance of the kit was recently verified in a test cell in Indianapolis, Hartmann says.

The kit, which can be fitted as part of a standard overhaul, consists of remanufactured compressor blades, single-crystal first-stage high-pressure turbine blades, and aerodynamically redesigned blades and vanes throughout the low-pressure turbine. According to an Air Force analysis report, the Series 3.5 upgrade could contribute to overall long-term savings of $3.5 billion over the lifetime of the fleet. Rolls has previously stated that the kit also could be potentially adapted for the T56-14 version that powers the P-3 maritime patrol aircraft.

Flight tests also will assess if the engine can deliver on estimates that it will increase the range of the C-130H with a 20,000-lb. payload to more than 3,180 nm, from 2,845 nm, compared with a standard Series 3-powered aircraft under identical conditions.