US, WASHINGTON (ORDO NEWS) — The new Boeing KC-46 refueling aircraft revealed a problem with fuel tanks. The Air Force detected a fuel leak between the first and second protective barriers. In accordance with the terms of the contract, Boeing is responsible for such problems; its specialists have already corrected this deficiency on seven aircraft.
The problem with the fuel leak of the US Air Force was assigned to the first category, that is, it can lead to serious damage to the aircraft. It is worth saying that the new tanker has repeatedly encountered difficulties assigned to other categories, and they have not been resolved.
So, the KC-46 has problems with the operation of video cameras that allow the operator of the refueling boom to remotely control it. Another issue concerns the impossibility of refueling A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft.
Recall that in January, a video was posted on the Network demonstrating how, when refueling a US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle, the KC-46 Pegasus arrow hit a combat aircraft. Fortunately, no one was hurt then, but the incident again drew attention to the troubled refueler.
Note that the most unpleasant “surprise” can be considered garbage and loose tools found in the KC-46A Pegasus, previously supplied by the US Air Force. This became known last year: as it turned out, at least ten new cars found items that should not be there. At the same time, it was reported that the Air Force suspended supplies until all the details were clarified, and the US Air Force pilots refused to fly on new machines, because they considered them not safe enough.
Particular attention to the problems of the KC-46 is due to the fact that this is one of the key elements to increase the combat potential of the United States Air Force in the future. The aircraft should replace the huge fleet of KC-135 tankers, the first of which took off in 1956. Over the years, over 800 such machines have been built: they are widely used both by the Americans themselves and their allies.
As for the KC-46, it first flew into the sky in 2015. The base model is the Boeing KC-767. A refueling aircraft can take 94,198 kilograms of fuel for recoil. Its maximum speed is 915 kilometers per hour, the practical range is 12,200 kilometers.
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The article is written and prepared by our foreign editors from different countries around the world – material edited and published by Ordo News staff in our US newsroom press.