The Boeing KC-46A Pegasus, which is set to become the backbone of the US Air Force’s (USAF) future tanker-transport aircraft fleet was shown for the very first time at the Paris Air Show held this week at the le Bourget airport.
The USAF’s KC-46A Pegasus tanker-transport aircraft made its international debut at the Paris Air Show 2019. It was presented along with a number of other Boeing platforms, including the P-8A Poseidon, F-15E Strike Eagle, AH-64 Apache attack helicopter and CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopter / Pictures: Michal Jarocki
The aircraft presented at the Paris Air Show was one of nearly a dozen of operational KC-46A Pegasus tankers in the US Air Force inventory. Deliveries started as early as 25th January and to date the USAF has accepted 11 KC-46s, with 6 planes delivered to the McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas and another 5 to Altus AFB in Oklahoma.
The Initial Operational Testing and Evaluation of the platform was launched on 4th June at the McConnell AFB. According to the USAF, it will ‘provide an assessment of how well the aircraft performs under the strain of operations’.
Boeing is currently on contract for delivery of 52 KC-46A with the total USAF’s requirement believed to be 179 aircraft at this moment. As much as 36 tankers are to be delivered by the end of 2019.
