The U.S. Air Force’s new KC-46A Pegasus refueling jet completed its first flight test September 25, the Air Force and prime contractor Boeing have announced. As a part of a legal contract bestowed in 2011 to make and initiate the development of north America Air Force’s next-generation tanker airplanes, Boeing rising four trial flight and 2 are now meant as 767-2Cs and 2 KC-46A tankers. During the afternoon flight, pilots checked the engines, flight controls, and environmental systems and reached an altitude of 35,000 feet.
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Tim Peters, the vice president and program manager of Boeing’s KC-46 tanker, also said in the press release that the test flight shows they are on the right track.
Charles Ramey, a spokesman from Boeing, told the Defense News that following the successful flight test, the company and USAF will conduct the next series of flight tests for the KC-46 program. Those flights, along with the mission systems demonstrations and a recently completed ground cargo handling test, will support the planned Milestone C decision in 2016. Delayed from an expected flight earlier this year because of technical problems, the first flight accomplishes a key milestone in the Air Force’s “Milestone C” decision to begin low-rate initial production (LRIP) of the tanker, which is planned for next spring.
Once it’s fully tested, the KC-46A will be used to refuel allied and coalition military aircraft.
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The multi-billion program proposes 179 of the same aircraft to be built for the US Air Force through 2028. Boeing is scheduled to deliver the first planes to Altus in 2017.
