Posted on 08/10/2015 3:07:43 PM PDT by Diogenesis
Israel is working to convert Boeing 767 into a long-flight refueling tanker
"US defense and air industry sources report that the Israeli Air Force may give up
on the US Boeing’s KC-46A Pegasus as its future refueling tanker for long-range
flights because of delays in its delivery." 
"Israel had first planned to take the Pegasus to replace its converted Boeing 707
when delivery was first to the US Air Force was scheduled for August 2017.
But this week, the company put the date back by another eight months and
the price increased by half a billion dollars.
American sources point out that if Israel wants to retain the option of attacking
Iran’s nuclear facilities when Barack Obama exits the White House
in January 2017, it can’t wait for the brand-new US Pegasus tanker, which doubles
as a military transport plane, to come off the Boeing production line and be delivered
to its air force.
....
On July 22, debkafile’s military sources revealed a mammoth transaction for Iran
to purchase Russian UL78 MK1 (Midas) tankers with a range of 7,300km.
(The distance from Iran to Israel is 1,200km).
Each tanker is capable of spontaneously feeding 6-8 fighter craft.
Israel Aerospace Industries [IAI] is therefore working at top speed on the Boeing 767,
a long-range, wide-body, twin-engine jet airliner with a range of 7,000 to 11,000 km."
(Excerpt) Read more at debka.com ...
Once an program item becomes a CDRL item, it belongs to Uncle Sam.
I doubt an F-15 could carry a 30,000+ bunker busting bomb - the limit is about 23,000 of external fuel/ordinance. I’m thinking a converted 767 could carry several. It would be a difficult re engineering project of the plane but not impossible.
A 767 isn't stealthy at all, and it isn't anywhere near as maneuverable as a fighter bomber. It would need lots of fighter cover to be able to fly over a target, and any high value target like a bunker used to process uranium into weapons grade uranium is going to have SAM's protecting it. I wonder if anyone has considered stretching an F-15 or other 4th generation fighter bomber to increase fuel and bomb loads?
Stealthy, definitely not. But Iran’s air defense is decrepit and fairly useless right now. A few cruise missiles, a few key air fields cratered, some electronic counter measures, a few grids knocked out and the door would be open. The real question is, would the bunker buster bomb currently available be up to the job. I don’t think the Iranians have the experience to harden their sites like we can in the West. Ultimately the best bet would be some sort of ground sabotage of key nuclear installations since it would allow the Israelis plausible deniability.
Is there any chance of a joint Israeli-Saudi strike? I know Saudi Arabia has offered let Israel use their airspace to attack the Iranian nuclear sites.
A Saudi-Israeli strike? Now, that would be a gamer’s delight!
The Saudis operate the largest number of Strike Eagles, including the most modern ones, and have scores of potent Tornadoes and Typhoons. The Israelis can park their entire Air Force and fly Saudi hardware to get the job done.
Saudi Arabia could never openly work with Israel...they have their own internal ‘radical’ elements that think the House of Saud is not Islamic enough. Another idea I’ve had is for them to convert a large tanker or cargo ship into a one time aircraft carrier capable of catapulting F-15’s. They could launch right near the Iranian coast, hit the targets only a couple hundred miles off, after dropping their ordinance refuel in the air and fly back to Israel - a 21st century Doolittle raid. I’m just not sure an F-15e can carry a big enough bunker buster bomb to do the job.
But, could the F-15 tolerate catapult launches? The F-15 was never designed to be launched by a catapult. If catapult launces were considered, perhaps the Israelis could have considered buying some F/A-18 E or F, or even buying up the F-14’s that the US Navy retired a few years ago. If they still have F-4’s, those were designed for catapult launches, but their flight envelope isn’t anywhere near as good as the F-15.
Maybe the U.S. should go with the Airbus tanker currently flying? Might even be cheaper.
Touche’!
Maybe they mean spontaneous as in spontaneously conbust.
A small country like Israel buying/converting any largish vessel is going to stick out like a sore thumb for the Russians or Iranians to see. And parking it next to the Iranian coast is going to present Iranian anti-ship missile batteries target practice since Israel has never focused too heavily on its surface escort fleet.
Besides, this idea is all the more impractical given an Israeli “carrier” will have to go through the Suez Canal and plenty of choke points to navigate, which are infested with Iranian proxies (Sudan and Yemen).
You could buy a retired ship via dummy corporations. Sailing via Gibralter and round the horn is pretty easy. You don’t have to use the canal. There is a lot of tanker/cargo traffic in the Indian Ocean and I would not put much faith in Iranian air/sea patrol-search assets...they are a third rate power at best. I just don’t think there is a fighter-bomber aircraft capable of carrying a bunker buster bomb...they don’t have anything like a B-52, B-1 or B-2, so converting something like a converted 767 freighter into a delivery system is the only possibility - they could possibly carry 2 25,000 lb bombs. It would take a serious air defense suppression mission to open the door for them but it’s not impossible. An EMP bomb could do the job as well...if they have them. To pull off a task like this will require some serious outside the box thinking.
Buying is easy ... modifying a civilian cargo carrier to catapult aircraft off is not and training your personnel for that is more difficult. And is likely to be detected by state/non-state intelligence easily very quickly. If this were possible, the Israelis would have done it ages ago.
Might as well buy a retired USN carrier. The only way your cargo carrier capability makes sense is to adapt them to carry cruise missiles like what a Russian company is offering with its ‘Klub’ missiles. The logistical footprint is at a minimum.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbUU_9bOcnM
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