Photo: USAF/Senior Airman Ariel Owings
Although at first glance it may seem that the American military is relying mostly on decades-old airplanes to conduct its business, new airborne machines come to life almost on a constant basis, either as completely-new pieces of hardware or new and revised versions of existing, older platforms.
In the world of aerial tankers, the Boeing KC-46 Pegasus is the youngest there is. Having had its first flight back in 2014, the plane is derived from the civilian 767 jet airliner and it's already hard at work conducting business in the skies over the world.
When it commissioned the Pegasus, the U.S. Air Force said it would buy 179 of these flying gas stations by 2027 (the first one was delivered in 2019), and even if we’re not told how many of them are already in operation, they are getting increasingly more visible up there.
The photo we have here, recently released by the Air Force, shows one of the KC-49s on its first mission over the North Atlantic Ocean, a flight that took place at the beginning of December. It’s an underbelly shot of the airplane, one that allows us to see not quite in its full glory the extended refueling boom of the plane, probably just before the airplane below connected to it for refueling.
Powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney engines with an output of 62,000 lbs of thrust, the plane can carry 212,299 pounds (96,297 kg) of fuel, which it can feed to airplanes in need by means of both the refueling boom and a drogue system.
This configuration allows the Pegasus to “conduct simultaneous air refueling of multiple aircraft with wing pods.” Because the storage of the precious fuel allows it, the Pegasus can also perform extended roles, like passenger and cargo transport, including for medical and humanitarian relief.
When it commissioned the Pegasus, the U.S. Air Force said it would buy 179 of these flying gas stations by 2027 (the first one was delivered in 2019), and even if we’re not told how many of them are already in operation, they are getting increasingly more visible up there.
The photo we have here, recently released by the Air Force, shows one of the KC-49s on its first mission over the North Atlantic Ocean, a flight that took place at the beginning of December. It’s an underbelly shot of the airplane, one that allows us to see not quite in its full glory the extended refueling boom of the plane, probably just before the airplane below connected to it for refueling.
Powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney engines with an output of 62,000 lbs of thrust, the plane can carry 212,299 pounds (96,297 kg) of fuel, which it can feed to airplanes in need by means of both the refueling boom and a drogue system.
This configuration allows the Pegasus to “conduct simultaneous air refueling of multiple aircraft with wing pods.” Because the storage of the precious fuel allows it, the Pegasus can also perform extended roles, like passenger and cargo transport, including for medical and humanitarian relief.
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