The U.S. Air Force’s new KC-46A Pegasus tanker has refueled another KC-46A in flight for the first time, prime contractor Boeing [BA] announced Oct. 11.
During the recent four-hour flight, which began and ended at Boeing Field near downtown Seattle, test aircraft refueled each other and achieved the refueling boom’s maximum transfer rate of 1,200 gallons of fuel a minute, Boeing said.
The KC-46A is the seventh type of aircraft that the KC-46A has refueled so far. The program’s test aircraft previously refueled AV-8B, A-10, C-17, F-16, F/A-18 and KC-10 aircraft.
The Air Force and Boeing continue trying to fix several glitches that have surfaced in recent testing, including the boom making unintended contact with the receiving aircraft outside the boom receptacle (Defense Daily, Sept. 19).
The Air Force plans to buy 179 KC-46As to begin replacing its aging tankers. Boeing is slated to deliver the first 18 tankers in 2018.