Boeing completes first refueling flight of KC-46A tanker

The Boeing KC-46A Pegasus performs its first aerial refuelling, passing 1,600 pounds of fuel to an F-16 on 24 January 2016.

Colonel Christopher Coombs, who runs the program for the U.S. Air Force, called the flight an “important milestone” for the new jet in a statement released by Boeing early Monday, but he said there was “a lot of work yet to do”.

Image: First KC-46A Tanker completes refuelling flight.

MSgt. Lindsay Moon, a 13-year veteran boom operator, operated the boom controls passing fuel for the mission.

In Sunday’s test, an operator based in the tanker lowered a rigid boom to pass fuel to the F-16.

Within days, Boeing expects on another test flight to refuel a different military jet, the large C-17 transport aircraft, which also receives the fuel from the extended boom. More flight tests involving a variety of US military aircraft are planned for coming weeks, Aviation Week reported.

And an F/A -18 fighter and an AV-8B Harrier attack jet will each be refueled using the KC-46’s alternative air-to-air refueling method: a hose-and-drogue system. Anticipating that approval will be received, Boeing has been building production tankers on its own to make up for delays that have wiped out the slack built into the schedule. It made its first flight in September 2015.

Lt. Col. Donevan Rein, also with Detachment 1 in Seattle, Wash., was the Air Force pilot onboard the KC-46A during the test sortie.

It marked the first time that a KC-46 passed fuel to another in air jet since Boeing won a contract to develop the tanker in 2011. The program is now working to meet the required assets available date, a milestone requiring 18 KC-46A aircraft and all necessary support equipment to be on the ramp, ready to support warfighter needs, by August 2017.

Two further test planes, a KC-46 fully equipped with the refueling systems and another 767-200C airframe, are expected to join the test program by the summer.