NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. -- Maj. Gen. Gerald Donohue, deputy commander of Air Mobility Command, joined military and defense industry leaders to address service members, partners and journalists on the evolving demands of long-range airpower during the Air and Space Forces Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference, Sept. 15, 2026.
Donohue joined Maj. Gen. Ty W. Neuman, commander of Eighth Air Force and the Joint-Global Strike Operations Center, and Jamie Burgess, Vice President and General Manager of Mobility, Surveillance and Bombers at Boeing, for a panel discussing long-range airpower with a focus on Operation Midnight Hammer and Operation Epic Fury.
During the discussion, Donohue highlighted the essential role of tanker and strategic airlift platforms in bridging global distances to generate decisive combat power without requiring forward-prepositioned strike forces, emphasizing the historic performance of mobility Airmen who did not miss a single Air Refueling Control Time during recent high-tempo operations.
“When we think about the way we've been able to project power, whether it be from the continental United States or from other locations where it's forward-postured, Air Mobility Command, the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command—who are undergoing the biggest mobilization in a generation or two—have been committed all in and extraordinarily effective,” Donohue said. “A tanker fleet that is largely defined by 70-year-old aircraft, sustained by extraordinary maintainers and supported by a global en route structure to ensure it is ready to meet the challenge, has delivered.”
Echoing the strategic synergy required for global strike, Neuman emphasized that bombers and tankers operate as an inseparable system of systems when executing deep-penetration strikes.
“In the near term, we have to have a combat bomber force that has the long-range strike capability, supported by our AMC brethren, to get to the fight with the appropriate capabilities to inflict the necessary pain and suffering on the adversary,” said Neuman.
Addressing the realities of modernizing a legacy refueling fleet, Donohue outlined how AMC is pursuing recapitalization and upgrades across three primary categories: connectivity, survivability and viability.
“Largely today, some of our forces still operate the way they did 20 years ago, and they don’t have the connectivity that you have when you get on your flights to head home,” Donohue explained. “Epic Fury and Midnight Hammer underscored the importance that connectivity plays—not only to our own survivability, but more importantly, to the success of the Joint Force.”
To illustrate the scale of joint warfighting interoperability, Donohue highlighted the massive refueling and airlift footprint required to launch and recover global strike packages.
“When we talk about Midnight Hammer, most public attention rightly focuses on the extraordinary stealth bomber aircrews who executed the mission. What most Americans don’t fully understand is the dozens and dozens of tankers and airlift assets that were necessary to make that happen,” Donohue stated.
Looking ahead, Donohue cautioned that while the acquisition of the KC-46A Pegasus continues to deliver critical capability, the Air Force must remain clear-eyed about the timelines required to modernize the mobility enterprise.
“The last KC-135 pilot has not been born,” said Donohue. “That is just a statement of fact when we consider the time it takes to modernize and so we will have to sustain our legacy platform as well as our newest platforms and ensure that the Joint Force is supported by being able to execute the mission.”
Donohue concluded by expressing his deep gratitude for the Airmen across Active, Guard and Reserve components who make global reach a reality every day.
“The nation should be proud of its mobility Airmen,” Donohue concluded. “Whether it’s in our global AOC, the 618th Air Operations Center, our contingency response, or our global air mobility support structure…we have set the theater. And then ultimately, to the tanker aircrews who made every one of the [Air Refueling Control Times] to ensure that [Neuman’s] team can deliver the desired effects, we should all be proud of what that force is able to accomplish.”