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The Boeing KC-46 Pegasus is an American military aerial refueling and strategic military transport aircraft developed by Boeing from its 767 jet airliner.In February 2011, the tanker was selected by the United States Air Force (USAF) as the winner in the KC-X tanker competition to replace older Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers.
The USAF then began the KC-X tanker replacement program. The DoD posted a request for proposal on 30 January 2007. [2] The U.S. Air Force's main requirements are "fuel offload and range at least as great as the KC-135", airlift capability, ability to take on fuel in flight, and multi-point refueling capability. [2]
The KC-135 is similar in appearance to the 707, but has a narrower fuselage and is shorter than the 707. The KC-135 predates the 707, and is structurally quite different from the civilian airliner. Boeing gave the future KC-135 tanker the initial designation Model 717. [4] A KC-135A refueling a B-52D during the Cold War.
The Air Force had already retired its KC-135-based EC-135C aircraft in 1998, turning over its Looking Glass mission to the Navy's E-6 fleet while continuing to fly the Boeing E-4 as the National Emergency Airborne Command Post. But the E-4, built in the 1970s and based on the Boeing 747-200, was also aging and in need of replacement.
The arrival of replacement Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers, originally scheduled for August was delayed. The first of the new planes did not arrive until October, and the squadron did not reach full strength until April 1958 and did not become combat ready until May. [ 1 ]
The extra tanks increase the KC-10's fuel capacity to 356,000 lb (161,478 kg), nearly doubling the KC-135's capacity. [7] The KC-10 has both a centerline refueling boom —unique in that it sports a control surface system at its aft end that differs from the V-tail design used on previous tankers—and a drogue-and-hose system on the starboard ...
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The E-6 cannot use the probe-and-drogue in-flight refueling method that most other US Navy aircraft use. It uses a flying boom receptacle on the upper-forward fuselage, making it, like the Navy's Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft, reliant upon specific U.S. Air Force aircraft (KC-135 Stratotanker, KC-10 Extender, and KC-46 Pegasus) for in-flight ...