Air Force’s newest refueler earns record with
nonstop 36-hour flight
By
JOHN VANDIVER
STARS AND STRIPES • November
22, 2022
Capt. Jordan Gauvin, a pilot with
the 157th Air Refueling Wing, flies a KC-46A Pegasus over the Pacific Ocean, Nov.
16, 2022. The flight, a 36-hour nonstop endurance mission covering 16,000
miles, set an Air Force record. (Timm Huffman/U.S. Air Force)
A U.S. Air Force
air-to-air refueler has set a flight record with a 36-hour nonstop endurance
mission covering 16,000 miles, the service said in a statement.
The flight, which
involved a KC-46A Pegasus from the 157th Air Refueling Wing out of New
Hampshire, is now the Air Mobility Command’s longest mission to date, the Air
Force said.
“This extended
mission is yet another example of capable Airmen taking charge and moving out
to accelerate our employment of the KC-46A,” Gen. Mike Minihan, AMC commander,
said in a Friday statement.
The flight
occurred over a two-day span from Nov. 16-17.
A New Hampshire Air National Guard
crew guides their KC-46A Pegasus while receiving fuel from another Pease KC-46A
during a 36-hour endurance mission, Nov. 16, 2022. The proof-of-concept mission
was crewed by active-duty and Air National Guard airmen, who flew the jet
nonstop from New Hampshire across North America and the Pacific Ocean, around
Guam and back home again. (Timm Huffman/U.S. Air Force)
Minihan described
the effort as meeting an “imperative to think differently” as the Air Force
aims to provide more options to the broader joint force.
The KC-46A plays a
key role in extending the reach of American warplanes. The plane itself can be
refueled in flight while delivering fuel to most other aircraft. Notably,
unresolved problems mean the KC-46A remains unable to refuel the A-10 attack
plane.
The KC-46A Pegasus
has dealt with a range of technical difficulties and setbacks over the years,
which has complicated Air Force plans to have the aircraft replace the aging
KC-135 Stratotanker.
Still, the
aircraft has been gradually playing a larger role. In September, Minihan
approved the KC-46A for worldwide deployments.
“We are ready to
use this aircraft globally in any fight, without hesitation,” Minihan said at
the time.
During this
month’s endurance mission, the aircraft refueled F-22 fighters in the Pacific
and was itself refueled three times, the Air Force said. The crew took off from
Pease Air National Guard Base, flying over North America and into the Pacific,
going two-thirds of the way around the globe and back, the Air Force said.
Air Force
officials said the mission built on previous 22- and 24-hour missions.
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