REFORPAC 25, part of the Department of the Air Force’s larger Department-Level Exercise, tasked Pacific Air Forces to demonstrate their ability to rapidly disperse thousands of service members and equipment across the region. The exercise provides an optimal testing environment for AATC’s enhanced KC-135 systems, with realistic operational conditions and numerous participants that stress test the data networks under real-world scenarios.
Building on previous demonstrations, AATC evaluated the Datalink Enhancement-Minimum Viable Product’s abilities to fuse data from three different line of sight Tactical Data Link networks and multiple Beyond Line of Sight connections with Advanced Intelligent Gateway technology aboard the KC-135, connecting joint and coalition mission partners in real time for distributed operations across contested environments.
The modernization effort supports Air National Guard Acting Director Maj. Gen. Duke Pirak’s priorities for innovation and legacy aircraft upgrades. AATC’s approach extends operational lifespans of existing platforms by rapidly fielding mature capabilities at reduced cost compared to new aircraft acquisition.
“The Department Level Exercise provides the necessary scope, scale and complexity to evaluate enhanced KC-135 capabilities in a representative environment,” said Lt. Col. Spencer Liedl, AATC KC-135 Operational Test Director, highlighted.
The systems reduce traditional decision-making timelines from hours to minutes, expanding sensor-to-shooter data passage and expediting the long-range kill chain. While conventional intelligence cycles have historically required a 72-hour battle rhythm from collection to action, the KC-135 platform demonstrated the ability to reduce that cycle to minutes, enabling repositioning and mission execution in contested environments.
The Intelligent Gateway connects BLOS networks with operational and strategic-level information to datalinks at the tactical edge, providing capability for distributed operations where traditional command structures may be limited.
“The air refueling enterprise is in a unique position to leverage theater-wide mass at any given moment to connect strategic information with the forward tactical edge, expediting sensor-to-shooter data passage and tightening a global kill web,” Liedl said.
Prior to modernization, KC-135 crews relied on outside sources for threat information. The enhanced systems now provide aircrews with real-time situational awareness through moving map displays while sharing that information via line-of-sight and BLOS with national, joint and coalition partners, enabling timely and independent tactical decisions in contested environments.
The rapid capability development demonstrates how maximizing investment in proven platforms delivers 80 percent capability enhancement at 20 percent cost through smart modernization. Rather than waiting for lengthy acquisition programs, the test center developed solutions to meet operational requirements and validates them during comprehensive exercise operations.
The DE-MVP system operates as a roll-on-roll-off capability, enabling deployment across distributed operating locations for ACE concepts. This adaptability supports scaling of modernization across multiple platforms.
The platform operates across the Indo-Pacific theater, where operations require resilient communications. Joint, allied and partner forces communicate through the KC-135 Intelligent Gateway to make tactical decisions with common operating pictures, supporting coalition operations.
“Just as tankers have been a catalyst of global reach by passing fuel to other aircraft, their pre-existing vast presence across every area of responsibility makes for ideal nodes to fuse and pass data-essential for any major operation across great distances,” Liedl said.
The AATC, established in 1981, serves as the Air Reserve Component’s primary test and evaluation center, operating across four geographically separated units and specializing in operational and developmental testing. AATC’s modernization approach provides enhanced capabilities for existing platforms, supporting ACE operations through connected battlespace capabilities validated during comprehensive exercises, such as REFORPAC 25.
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