A KC-46A Pegasus takes off from McConnell Air Force Base, Kan., Feb. 26, 2019. (Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Alexi Myrick)
By: FEDweek StaffThe Air Force has selected March Air Reserve Base, California, as the probable home for the KC-46A Pegasus multirole aerial tanker aircraft. March was chosen over Grissom Air Reserve Base, Indiana, and Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma – both of which remain on the Air Force’s list of reasonable alternative sites.
A final decision will not be made until results of environmental impact analyses at all three installations are complete. The analyses will take place in the fall of 2023. March would then receive 12 KC-46As, to replace the aging KC-135 Stratotanker.
The KC-46A offers the capability of conducting boom and drogue refuelings during the same sortie, worldwide navigations and communication, the ability to use the entire main deck floor for cargo, air refueling, better force protection, and multi-point air refueling.
The KC-46A is based on the civilian Boeing 767 airliner airframe. The KC-135 is built on Boeing’s 707, which has long since been retired from commercial use.
However, once the KC-46As begin arriving at the base, the Air Force will still need to resolve some challenges with the aircraft. In a recent report GAO identified problems with the plane’s remote vision system, for example. The service must commit to a design for the system, GAO stated, before all other technologies are developed adequately. The longer this takes to accomplish, costs and delays will increase accordingly. The report offered recommendations that the Air Force work closely with Boeing to assess readiness and develop a maturation plan for the remote vision technology, and test a prototype in an operational environment.
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