Deliveries of the US Air Force’s new tanker aircraft, the Boeing KC-46A Pegasus, have finally begun. It’s a project that has been plagued by controversy and problems. We analyze what lies ahead for USAF tanker procurement.
IN A GALA ceremony complete with music and speeches from corporate executives and senior military officers, Boeing handed over the first two KC-46A Pegasus tankers to the US Air Force and Air Mobility Command on January 24.
The following day the pair — serial 15-46009 using radio callsign MDUSA 01 and 17-46031 as MDUSA02, the Medusa callsigns being a nod to the mother of Pegasus in Greek mythology — flew from Everett Field, Washington, to McConnell AFB, Kansas, for delivery to the 22nd and 931st Air Refueling Wings (ARWs). A week later two more KC-46s arrived in Kansas. The USAF’s newest tanker was finally here after years of incessant wrangling about its development and capabilities.
The debate over the KC-46, its lengthy acquisition process, and its rival Airbus Military A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) is similar to those by armchair aviators quaffing a pint or two in the local pub and arguing about the P-47 versus the P-51, the Spitfire or the Hurricane, or the B-17 and t…
