The Israeli air force has shelved plans to find a near-term replacement for its Boeing 707 tankers.
A senior air force source says that after evaluating the possible alternatives, a decision has been taken to retain the current fleet of converted aircraft. Other options under consideration had included modifying Boeing 767s and the Gulfstream G550 business jet, which has already been adapted for Israeli use as a surveillance platform.
The air force's existing 707 tankers were converted by Israel Aerospace Industries and two years ago underwent a Honeywell glass cockpit upgrade. This introduced six multifunction displays, new communications equipment and a global air traffic management system.
Separately, work was also performed to replace the Israeli-made boom previously used by the aircraft with the same design installed on the US Air Force's KC-135 fleet.
Despite the decision to not replace its ageing fleet, the air force's current tankers are "sufficient" to support the service's missions, the source says.
Source: Flight International
