Kc 46 cockpit11/8/2023 ![]() Air Force and allies for the full spectrum of missions, the combat-ready KC-46 Pegasus air refueling plane. The new tanker program, worth 1.12 Billion Euro (including integrated logistic support for five years and the acquisition, through FMS, of various critical equipment, including the self-protection and communication systems, the tactical datalink, and the mission planning platform) is going to begin in April 2023 and will end in 2035. Built to meet the requirements of the U.S. The tanker is itself equipped with a receptacle, meaning that it can be refueled by another tanker extending its range (or on-station time).ĭealing with the existing fleet of KC-767As, ordered in 2002 and delivered between 20, the four airframes, assigned to the 14° Stormo (Wing) based at Pratica di Mare airbase, near Rome, and flown by the 8° Gruppo (Squadron), will be traded-in and returned to Boeing. KC-46 incorporates the 787’s state-of-the-art cockpit, a fly-by-wire boom, remote boom-operator’s station, advanced self-defensive suite including. Air Force s KC-46 tanker program office should have dealt with problems with the aircrafts refueling boom years ago, during its development, according to a May 27 Defense Department. It is also equipped for aeromedical evacuation. ![]() Anyway, both feature a dual capability that provides a significant flexibility: during the same mission the tanker can refuel both aircraft equipped with onboard receptacle and those with an IFR (In-Flight Refueling) probe. The KC-46A is a heavily modified Boeing 767-200ER multirole passenger/cargo-tanker equipped with flying boom and probe/drogue refueling capability using the Wing Air Refueling Pod (WARP) system. The KC-767A is based on the commercial B-767-200ER (Extended Range), and is equipped with both the sixth generation flying boom (similar to the one of the American KC-10), and three hose and drogue stations (WARPs – Wing Air Refueling Pods).While a Boeing 767 derivative too, the KC-46A Pegasus features a stretched fuselage, different engines, cockpit, wings and boom: in other words, despite some clear commonalities, it’s almost a completely different tanker. Actually, the upgrade to the Pegasus standard of the existing KC-767A appeared to be a quite difficult operation since the beginning. This unique mobile KC-46A trailer housed the exact replica of the KC-46A flightdeck, which caught the imagination of Air Force pilots.
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