Exit

Tag Archive: kc-46 pegasus

  1. Boeing’s KC-46 Pegasus Can Already Refuel 22 Different Aircraft

    Leave a Comment

    Aerospace Manufacturing manufactures a specialized NAS9921 fastener for the KC-46 Pegasus tanker, the USAF’s next-generation military aerial refueling aircraft that is replacing an aging fleet of KC-135 Stratotankers. 

    The USAF has been putting the KC-46 through comprehensive testing at Edwards Air Force Base in California to certify aerial refueling between the tanker and no fewer than 22 different kinds of aircraft, including, significantly, the largest aircraft in the USAF’s inventory, the C-5M Super Galaxy.

    The Super Galaxy is huge. With five sets of landing gear, 28 wheels and a load capacity of 281,001 pounds, it can carry two M1 Abrams tanks, or six AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, or 15 Humvees — you get the idea. 


    Photo credit BlueBarronPhoto / Shutterstock.com

    Fully loaded, the C-5M Super Galaxy can fly 2,150 nautical miles, unload, and fly to a second base 500 nautical miles away. That’s without aerial refueling from the KC-46. With aerial refueling, its range will only be limited by the crew’s endurance. 

    Maj. Drew Bateman, a C-5M pilot and the chief of the 22nd Airlift Squadron’s standardization and evaluation command, said of the April 29 sortie, when the KC-46 and the C-5M first made contact in the skies above Edwards, “That was awesome to be a part of. You have a few pinch me moments in life and this was one of them for me.”

    To refuel the Super Galaxy, boom operators rely on a series of cameras that project a 3-D image onto a screen, which the operators use to position the aircraft. Once Boeing and the USAF complete the testing phase, the next step is to obtain all operational clearances needed to pair the KC-46s and C-5M on missions.

    Stay tuned!

    Procure from Aerospace Manufacturing

    AMI is an AS9100 and ISO:9001 accredited, vertically integrated manufacturer of high strength, close tolerance aerospace bolts, screws, pins, studs, threaded rods and built-to-print specials

    We are trusted by world-class OEM leaders like Boeing, DLA, NASA, US Navy, General Electric, Lockheed Martin, and Sikorsky. We are QSLM approved and licensed to manufacture Phillips aerospace fasteners.

    Search our expansive inventory or launch your Custom Quote today!