Free Republic

U.S. Air National Guard photo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The US Air Force (USAF) is on track to certify the iconic Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk for aerial refueling on its latest tanker, the Boeing KC-46, by the end of March 2024. Despite the F-117 fleet’s retirement from active service, the USAF is moving forward with plans to integrate it into the KC-46’s refueling capabilities. Andrew Hunter, the USAF’s acquisition boss, disclosed the inclusion of the F-117 as a receiver for aerial refueling during a testimony to the House armed services projection forces subcommittee on March 12, 2024, as first reported by Aviation Week. The...

With a range of 11,830 km and the capacity to carry 207,000 pounds of fuel, the KC-46 can refuel over 64 different types of aircraft and allow dozens of jets to remain airborne for up to 12 hours Israel’s Defense Ministry has signed an agreement with the US government to acquire 12 Lockheed Martin CH-53K helicopters and two additional Boeing KC-46 refueling aircraft. The US Defense Department’s Procurement Delegation signed the letters of acceptance (LOAs) with Israel on Thursday evening to replace the Israel Air Force’s CH-53 Yasur heavy-lift helicopters and Ra’am (Boeing 707) tanker aircraft that are required for...

CAPITOL HILL: More than a week after the Air Force halted Boeing’s deliveries of KC-46 tankers, Congress and the public learned of the latest shutdown forced by the discovery of more Foreign Object Debris in finished planes. This time, outgoing Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson told the chairman of the House Armed Services seapower and power projection subcommittee, that: “We actually stopped again the acceptance of KC-46s again after Foreign Object Debris was found in closed compartments.” Rep. Joe Courtney may have been briefed before the hearing began since he asked Wilson for an update on the FOD issue, citing...

Israel is mulling over a large, multi-billion dollar defense spending boost for the Israeli Air Force, or IAF, which could include money for fighter jets, transport helicopters, cargo planes, and six new aerial refueling tankers. This last tender was already set to be highly competitive and now there are reports that Boeing has blocked Israel Aerospace Industries, also known as IAI, from offering second-hand 767 airliners converted into tanker-transports, which would be a direct threat to its own troublesome 767-based KC-46 Pegasus. The Israeli business daily Globes was the first to report the developments on Aug. 6, 2018. According to...

A KC-46 tanker refuels a C-17 transport in mid-air. Sometimes the refueling boom impacts the receiving aircraft, damaging it. AFA: The four-star chief of Air Mobility Command wants his new KC-46 Pegasus tankers “yesterday,” but the tanker’s boom has a nasty tendency to scrape up planes it’s trying to refuel, as well as two other category one deficiencies, and contractor Boeing has to fix those. The paint scraping problem — formally known as “undetected contact” — by itself could “possibly” delay the new planes’ arrival at AMC, Gen. Carlton Everhart said. That date was already pushed back to “late spring”...

WASHINGTON: When Boeing really, truly and finally won the airborne tanker competition by underbidding what was then EADS North America (now Airbus) by at least 10 percent, the chairman of the losing company, Ralph Crosby, said he believed it important that Boeing be watched closely to make sure they delivered at that price and on schedule. “If they aren’t, then they should be held accountable,” he said at the press conference announcing EADS would not protest the win. Well, Boeing’s KC-46 is quite late and very over-budget. It was supposed to be ready for a spring 2017 arrival at Altus...

After refusing to sell Israel new planes for several years, mostly for fear that Israel would turn around and go bomb Iran with them, the White House now agreed in principle to let Israel buy the Boeing KC-46A Pegasus, using the US security assistance package. According to Walla, the Dept. of Defense initially offered Israel to purchase older models, to make room on its shelves for the new merchandize, but Israel refused, and started spreading hints that if Obama won’t give her what she needs, she can always get it from the next tenant in 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. So last...

Just months after being rejected by South Korea and weeks after first flight, Boeing’s KC-46A has been selected by Japan to supplement the nation’s KC-767 tanker fleet. The announcement came from Japanese defence minister Gen Nakatani on Friday, and constitutes a significant win for Boeing after a troubled start to the next-generation tanker development programme with the US Air Force. The Pegasus tanker can almost see the end of its development phase, after achieving first flight 25 September from Paine Field in Washington, following a roughly nine-month delay. According to Boeing, KC-46 is particularly attractive to Japan as it will...

Airbus said on Tuesday its defence division would not bid for a Japanese air-to-air refueling tanker aircraft deal estimated to be worth over a billion dollars because the terms of the tender favoured its U.S. rival Boeing Co. Japan's government had said in June that it wants four tankers to supplement its existing four Boeing 767-based tankers. On Tuesday, a Japanese Ministry of Defense spokeswoman confirmed that a request for proposals (RFP) has been issued, but was unable to provide any other details or respond to the Airbus decision. In a statement, Airbus said the RFP allowed Japan to buy...

EADS: Boeing’s “dumbed-down” KC-767 increases KC-Y prospects By Stephen Trimble EADS North America's top executive says recent disclosures by Boeing show the KC-767 was "dumbed-down" to win the US Air Force KC-X contract, potentially opening the door for KC-45 sales in the future. Sean O'Keefe, EADS NA chief executive, declined in an interview to admonish Boeing for his competitor's recent acknowledgement that marketing materials advertising a KC-767 with fuel-saving winglets throughout the competition were false. "I'm not going to pass judgement on anybody's marketing strategy or any competitor's veracity," O'Keefe said. "I wouldn't do that." But the absence of winglets...

Boeing open to Indian tanker invite February 26, 2011 By Saurabh Joshi After winning the USD 35 billion contest to supply the US Air Force (USAF) with 179 air-to-air refuelers, Boeing has indicated it might be willing to service Indian requirements too. India is currently considering bids for the Airbus A-330 MRTT and the Russian IL-78 refuelers in a tender, which closed on January 12. Dr. Vivek Lall, Boeing’s Defense, Space and Security unit’s India Vice President said ,”We do foresee additional international interest in the NewGen Tanker, based on its selection by the US Air Force, and we will...