MOBILITY

KC-46 Pegasus
photo by MoniCA M. wehri
As Test Flights Resume,
AMC Prepares for Pegasus
By LT COL OLIVER K LEEDS
Chief, KC-46, KC-135, KC-10
Requirements
The Boeing KC-46 Pegasus
is a military aerial refueling
and strategic military
transport aircraft developed
by Boeing from its 767 jet
airliner. In February 2011, the tanker
was selected by the United States
Air Force (USAF) as the winner
in the KC-X tanker competition to
replace older KC-135 Stratotankers.
The KC-46A will be able to refuel
any fixed-wing receiver-capable
aircraft on any mission. This aircraft
is equipped with a modernized KC-
10 refueling boom integrated with
a proven fly-by-wire control system
and delivering a fuel offload rate
required for large aircraft. In addition,
the hose and drogue system
adds additional mission capability
that is independently operable from
the refueling boom system.
The first of four aircraft in the engineering
and manufacturing development
phase of the KC-46 Pegasus
program flew for the first time with
Wingtip Air Refueling Pods (WARPS)
The KC-46A will be able
to refuel any fixed-wing
receiver-capable aircraft
on any mission.
and an air refueling boom on June 2,
2015, as part of airworthiness testing.
The aircraft, which is considered a
Boeing 767-2C rather than a KC-46,
first flew (without the WARPS and
boom) in December 2014. A second
test aircraft in the program is nearing
completion and will fly as a fully configured
KC-46A later this summer.
The third and fourth aircraft are also
expected to fly later this year.
“We are looking forward to the first
KC-46 flight later this summer and
getting a new phase of testing underway.
In the meantime, there is no
higher priority for AMC than preparing
to receive the KC-46 Pegasus at
our first Main Operating Base [MOB],
hopefully in late 2016,” said Maj Gen
Michael Stough, Director of Strategic
Plans, Requirements, and Programs
Headquarters Air Mobility Command.
AMC’s preparations include military
construction, aircrew and maintenance
training, technical order
certifications, support equipment
assembly, provisioning of spare parts,
updating manpower documents,
writing Air Force Instructions, and
laying the groundwork for command
and control infrastructure to interface
with the aircraft.
The first MOB is McConnell AFB in
Kansas, which is slated to receive
the next generation tanker in late
2016. Altus AFB in Oklahoma will
also receive the KC-46s around
the same time. Pease Air National
Guard Base in New Hampshire,
which is the second MOB, will
receive aircraft by 2018. Candidates
are still being evaluated for MOB
3, though the Air Force announced
it will be an Air Force Reserve-led
base. By 2027, the Air Force will
receive 179 KC-46s in total.
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The Mobility Forum