AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): America, in order to compensate for the shortages created in its refueling fleet, has removed a number of "KC-135" refueling aircraft stored at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in the city of Tucson, Arizona, from the reserve cycle and is preparing them for reconstruction and return to service. It is said that the age of some of these aircraft reaches 60 to 80 years.
This report adds that the US military had previously lost one KC-135 refueling aircraft in an aviation incident, and afterward, five other aircraft of the same type were also damaged at their deployment location due to Iranian attacks. The sum of these damages has placed pressure on the operational capability of America's aerial refueling fleet and forced Washington to return some old aircraft to the service cycle.
"Bild" has considered these developments a sign of the erosion of part of America's military capability and has cited the continuation of damages to this country's equipment and weapons as a factor for raising questions about Washington's capacity to confront future military challenges.
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona is considered one of the world's largest centers for the storage, repair, and reconstruction of old or surplus American military aircraft. This complex, which operates under the title of the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, has become famous as the "aircraft graveyard" due to the extensive rows of military aircraft in the desert region.
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