Method for Calculating the Required Number of Transport Vehicles Supplying Aviation Fuel to Aircraft during Combat Tasks

During aircraft flights, combat readiness and the supply system affecting it are essential issues. The basic items of supply during the implementation of tasks are combat assets and aviation fuel. Effective management of the flow of required products, as well as the reliability of vehicles and the availability of crews contribute to the quality of task performance. The components that make up this quality in military operations are measured by readiness. In real-life operations, the number of vehicles supplying aircraft with aviation fuel is determined for safety and reliability with an surplus related to the number of flight support facilities. This paper develops a method for determining the minimum number of vehicles required to supply aircraft (sp) with aviation fuels. The developed method was verified by a numerical example illustrating its application in practice. Additionally, a detailed analysis of its application was carried out in relation to potentially 50 possible scenarios of combat task execution, with a number of assumptions fulfilled. Based on the performed calculations, it was concluded that the number of vehicles required for sp fuel supply depends on several factors: the number of aircraft, the characteristics of air tasks (flight length and frequency of departures), as well as the time of clean sp refuelling and the duration of the vehicle-tanker refuelling cycle.