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The U.S. Air Force is exploring new ways to protect aerial refueling tankers and other high-value support aircraft by physically defeating incoming threats rather than trying to jam them or otherwise throw them off course. The service says a “kinetic” self-defense option could provide a valuable last line of defense against anti-air interceptors that might be resistant or even immune to certain kinds of electronic warfare attacks or decoys.

Kevin Stamey, the Air Force’s Program Executive Officer (PEO) for Mobility and the Director of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s (AFLCMC) Mobility Directorate, talked about kinetic self-protection capability in an official interview published earlier this week. The service’s current “mobility” portfolio includes the KC-46 and KC-135 tankers and the C-130, C-17, and C-5 cargo aircraft. Aviation Week was first to report on Stamey’s remarks.

“Some technology that we are really looking at is kinetic self-protection for our high-value airborne assets,” Stamey said. “Because the threat is evolving, we are trying to develop a capability to protect the tanker that is independent of that threat.”

“We consider kinetic self-defense to be sort of a last line of protection. If all else fails and a threat somehow breaks the kill chain, we’ll still have a means to protect the tanker,” he added. “Whether it’s an IR seeker or a radar seeker, if we have a means of taking it out kinetically, we don’t have to electronically attack it or use decoys that are effective against some things, but not others.”

Stamey did not elaborate in the interview on what a “kinetic self-protection” system might entail, but a design capable of launching some type of miniature missile is one especially likely option. The Air Force has already been working on exactly this kind of capability, at least on the experimental level, for years now.

In 2015, an Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) project dubbed the Miniature Self-Defense Munition (MSDM) emerged publicly. At that time, AFRL said it was looking for an “extremely agile, highly-responsive” miniature missile with a “very-low-cost passive seeker” and overall length of around 3.3 feet (one meter). For comparison, this is roughly one-third of the length of an AIM-9X Sidewinder, and even shorter proportionally than an AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM).

AFRL initially hired both Raytheon and Lockheed Martin to work on the MSDM program. In 2020, Raytheon received an additional contract for what was described then as a “miniature self-defense missile.” The stated scope of work for the new deal included “research and development of a flight-test ready missile.” This all seemed very much to be a continuation of the previously announced MSDM effort, despite the slight name change. To date, Raytheon does not appear to have shown even a concept for an MSDM interceptor publicly.

It’s also worth noting that Northrop Grumman received a patent in 2017 for a kinetic aircraft protection system based around a miniature interceptor. Accompanying drawings, some of which are seen below, depicted the system installed on a conceptual “futuristic” combat aircraft. TWZ had explored the potential benefits and limitations of such a system in detail at the time.

In 2018, the U.S. Navy also put out a largely open-ended call for information about potential options for a Hard Kill Self Protection Countermeasure System (HKSPCS) for transport, tanker, and other combat support aircraft. It also suggested the system could be used on future drones. The HKSPCS notice raised the possibility of a system designed to launch a salvo of miniature, highly maneuverable interceptor missiles, and that could offer an “alternative and/or adjunct to more conventional electronic self-protection solutions.”

Other concepts for kinetic self-protection for aircraft have been put forward in the past that do not involve firing a miniature missile at another missile. In 2012, Israeli firm Rafael demonstrated what was essentially an armored vehicle hard-kill active protection system designed to be integrated onto a helicopter. For a time, at least in the 2010s, the U.S. Navy also had a program called Helicopter Active RPG Protection, which seemed centered on a similar, if not identical, concept.

Lastly, in recent years, the Air Force has been testing the ability of its KC-135 tankers to launch small drones for self-protection and a variety of other purposes. Compared to a miniature missile, an unmanned aerial system could offer valuable loitering capability, giving it different options for engaging or re-engaging incoming threats, especially if they are fired in salvos. This, in turn, could help prevent interceptors from being wasted if the target they are fired at initially is destroyed by something else first.

Magazine depth remains one of the bigger challenges facing kinetic self-protection systems for aircraft, as well as platforms down below. An installation on a larger aircraft would open up different possibilities for reloading in flight from within the fuselage. The aforementioned drone launchers that the Air Force has been testing on the KC-135 notably offer that capability through the use of standardized Common Launch Tubes (CLT), which can be loaded with a wide array of payloads.

Directed energy capabilities could also be part of the future ecosystem of self-protection capabilities, which could also help address magazine depth concerns. Laser-based directional infrared countermeasures (DIRCM) systems are already found on tankers and airlifters across the U.S. military, but are designed to blind and confuse heat-seeking missiles, rather than destroy them. They have no impact on radar-guided interceptors. Efforts to develop aerial directed energy weapons capable of destroying targets, including incoming missiles, have faced significant challenges and have yet to produce an operational capability.

DIRCM Live Fire

The Air Force has also been developing self-protection systems for tankers and other high-value aircraft contained within modified Multipoint Refueling System (MPRS) pods normally used to send gas to receivers via the probe-and-drogue method. Repurposed MPRS pods configured to provide additional airborne communications and data-sharing capabilites are also in service now.

Any kinetic self-protection would also have to be tied to sensors, including infrared search and track systems (IRST) and/or radars, to spot incoming threats, which could be moving very fast, and cue interceptors to engage them. Ever-improving networking capabilities, which are another top Air Force priority for its mobility fleets, could enable the use of a distributed sensor network spread across multiple platforms. The use of loyal wingman-type drones is another area the Air Force has already been exploring to help protect tankers, in particular.

Regardless, the Air Force has clearly identified an ongoing desire for a kinetic self-protection capability for tankers and other valuable support aircraft. Though Mobility PEO Stamey did not explicitly say it in his interview, his remarks certainly hint at concerns that work on new and improved electronic warfare capabilities and decoys are having trouble keeping up with adversaries developing and fielding ever-more capable anti-air missiles.

Weapons that use imaging infrared seekers are notably immune to radiofrequency electronic warfare jamming, as well as radar cross-section-reducing design features. They are also passive in nature, meaning that they don’t pump out signals that can alert aircraft crews to the fact that they are under attack. Increased use of infrared sensor capabilities on aircraft and as part of surface-to-air missile systems only creates further challenges when it comes to detecting threats, let alone responding to them.

Air defense systems that rely on traditional radars have their own ways of creating challenges, including just by modulating the signals they emit in unexpected ways. TWZ regularly highlights the complexities surrounding the need to constantly tune and retune electronic warfare suites as threats change and evolve. The Air Force, among others, has also been pursuing so-called cognitive electronic warfare capabilities to help speed up those processes. The absolute ‘holy grail’ of the concept would be a system capable of adapting autonomously in real-time, even right in the middle of a mission.

Questions about the right mix of active and passive defenses are also likely to be central in the Air Force’s ongoing refinement of plans for future tankers and airlifters.

“We are working on the Next Generation Air Refueling System, NGAS, as it’s effectively known. Put the finishing touches on that last year. And that was a really wide look at how we would do air refueling in the future,” Air Force Gen. John Lamontagne, head of Air Mobility Command (AMC), told TWZ and other outlets at the Air & Space Forces Association’s main annual conference last September. “When I say a wide look, looking at conventional tankers [as] we know it today, you know something like a [KC-]135 or KC-46 as is; something with a bunch of mission systems added to it, with a defense systems [sic], connectivity, intelligence and more; a business jet; a blended wing body; or a signature-managed [stealthy] tanker.”

Central to those discussions is also the expectation that future opponents, especially in high-end fights, will have much greater anti-air reach, including with missiles able to hit targets up to 1,000 miles away. China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has been making especially significant investments in longer-range air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles.

This, in turn, only raises the prospect that critical supporting assets like tankers will find themselves at risk, even if they are flying far from where the main fighting is occurring.

“The [kinetic self-protection] technology is necessary if we’re going to be successful in pushing tankers into what we call the weapons engagement zone,” Mobility PEO Stamey said in the interview published this week. “Our adversaries are building long-range threats specifically to push assets like our tankers further back. They believe it’s easier to target and shoot a tanker than an F-35 or F-47.”

Stamey’s comments make clear that the Air Force is still very interested in making it harder for adversaries to do that by adding kinetic self-defense systems to the mix.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

ACTRESS Margot Robbie hits the Wuthering Heights of style — in a leather mini dress.

The Australian star was promoting her new movie, an adaptation of Emily Bronte’s classic love story, with a Q and A at Claridge’s in central London.

Last night, the 35-year-old appeared with co-star Jacob Elordi, 28, on The Graham Norton Show.

Jacob, who plays Heathcliff alongside Margot’s Catherine, said the couple’s obvious chemistry in the film was down to “mutual obsession”.

He said: “If you have the opportunity to share a film set with Margot Robbie, you’re going to make sure you’re within five to ten metres at all times.”

Margot and Jacob play Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, respectively, and are joined in the film by Hong Chau, Shazad Latif, Alison Oliver, Martin Clunes and Ewan Mitchell in supporting roles.

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Margot wore a see-through corset dress at the Wuthering Heights premiere in London

She dazzled in a see-through nude mesh gown with gold detailing and a white corset underneath, which showed off her incredible figure.

The Barbie actress was recently named the world’s most beautiful woman in a poll.

We revealed in October how Margot is being lined up to take on the leading role in a big budget remake of cult horror film American Psycho.

The mini comedy series has been delighting Netflix viewers with fans eager for a second season.

A sinister black comedy has been captivating viewers since landing on Netflix in 2024. The Decameron, loosely inspired by Giovanni Boccaccio’s 14th-century book of the same title, follows a collection of aristocrats and their staff who flee to a countryside estate to escape the Black Death.

Their opulent retreat rapidly spirals into mayhem as hidden truths emerge and schemes unravel. Upon its debut, The Decameron garnered glowing critiques from audiences.

Writing on IMDb (the International Movie Database), one enthusiast gushed: “This series is very refreshing, goofy, fun and hilarious but also well scripted, performed and beautiful cinematography as well. I am trying not to binge this one out too quickly, yet I can’t wait for more!”

A second devotee penned: “I’m so happy I saw the positive reviews and gave this a go. It’s actually brilliant, well-played and so funny, I found myself laughing out loud several times.

“I have to admit I was a bit skeptical at the beginning of the first episode, but found myself quickly drawn into the story.”

They continued: “It’s crazy, clever and highly entertaining, with many surprise twists and turns which keeps you completely invested in the story and characters.

“The actors are playing their roles almost to perfection, capturing the stupidity of their character with what feels like such a natural ease. I cannot understand the negative reviews at all! I loved this.”

A third viewer remarked: “I am glad to see that the ratings have gone up since I started watching because I honestly did not understand the hate.

“I agree with other reviewers who refer to this as Shakespearean fun. It’s like a satirical version of Midsummer Night’s Dream. I’ve watched this attentively, then I’ve put it on in the background. It’s so hilarious!”

They continued: “If you are a literature, theatre, or history enthusiast, I think you will thoroughly enjoy this. I imagine the actors were having the best time while filming this.

“I hope there is a second season and that Netflix will continue to create content for the aforementioned literature, theatre, and history enthusiasts!”

However, not everyone was impressed with the TV mini-series. One disappointed viewer wrote: “This show is a puzzlement. It’s not funny. It’s not dramatic. There are some moments of uncomfortable ‘humour’ that fall flat. The whole thing falls flat.”

Another critic observed: “A 14th-century period piece brought to Netflix full of present day tropes… the comedy is not what you expect, there is none in this series.”

The eight-part Netflix series – available for viewing now – boasts an impressive ensemble cast, featuring Sex Education’s Tanya Reynolds, Derry Girls’ Saoirse-Monica Jackson, and Veep’s Tony Hale.

FANCY a mini-break but don’t want to spend too much money? Well, how about a short cruise to Europe for the same price as a meal at Pizza Express for a family of four.

Travellers can head off on a two-night cruise between Hull and the Netherlands.

The P&O Ferries mini cruise allows you to travel overnight, usually leaving Hull at around 8:30pm and arriving in the Netherlands around 8:45am.

You can opt between heading to Rotterdam or Amsterdam on a return sailing from Hull to Europoort, with two nights in an en suite cabin, return coach transfers into the city centres and the live entertainment on board.

In between you will also get to explore either Rotterdam or Amsterdam – all for just £65 per person.

For example, one £65pp sailing heads off on March 3 and returns on March 5.

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Included in the price you pay is a two-bunk cabin with an en suite shower room with a WC.

Towels and bed linen are included too.

There are of course add-ons, if you wish to include them – such as the kitchen dinner for £25 per person, which is a buffet of international dishes.

If you fancy breakfast on board, that will set you back £13.50 each too.

Or you could get a package for both dinner and breakfast for £35.95 per person.

Though it is worth baring in mind, these prices are all per way.

Coach transfers from the port to either Rotterdam or Amsterdam are listed as £12 per person, per way – though they are included in the £65 per person price.

The cities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam in the Netherlands are both great to explore for a day.

In Rotterdam, you can head to one of the maritime museums to learn about its history as a port city.

Then, you could swing by the Cube Houses, known for their unusual architecture.

Opposite the Cube Houses you will find Markthal, which is a large market hall home to around 96 food stalls.

Alternatively, if you choose to head to Amsterdam you can explore the intricate network of canals that sprawl across the city.

One of the most popular tourist spots in the city is the Anne Frank House, which is a museum inside the actual house where Anne Frank hid during World War II.

To explore the canals further, you can also hop on a canal tour via boat.

If you fancy an even more memorable sailing you can head on a Mini Cruise Live.

These cruises have different entertainment onboard, often including celebrities.

For example, you could head on a Noughties Takeover cruise from February 27 to March 1.

On board, the entertainment includes JLS star Marvin Humes and Blazin’ Squad star and former Love Islander, Marcel Somerville.

This sailing costs from £139 per person.

With the family? Then head on the Family Cruise from April 8 to 10, with K-Pop Live and Cirque: The Greatest Show – a circus-musical experience with songs from The Greatest Showman, La La Land, Rocketman and Moulin Rouge.

There will also be face painters on board, and tickets to this sailing also cost from £139 per person.

Fancy something a little different? Head on the Murder Mystery Mini Cruise from March 4 to 6.

On board, passengers will get to enjoy two murder mystery experiences with Cheeky Blinders on night one and 1925-based mystery The Maiden Voyage on night two.

This sailing costs from £99 per person.

In other cruise news, the ‘affordable luxury’ Nordic cruise where temperatures hit 28C.

Plus, our pick of the eight best cruises for both hot and cold weather – from Caribbean sailings to Icelandic glacier tours.