Photo: Boeing
The Air Mobility Command is one of 11 major Air Force commands. Ever since 1992, it has been in charge of airlift, air refueling, air mobility support and aeromedical evacuation, meaning all those side activities whose absence would make a successful military operation impossible.
AMC for short, the organization is the operator of some of the most impressive logistics aircraft currently in service: C-5 Galaxy, KC-10 Extender, C-17 Globemaster III, C-130 Hercules, C-130J Super Hercules and KC-135 Stratotanker.
More recently, a new aerial refueling platform entered the AMC fleet, the KC-46 Pegasus. Having had its first flight back in 2014, the flying gas station is a derivative of the civilian Boeing 767 and can carry 212,299 pounds (96,297 kg) of fuel for the planes that need it during their missions.
For it to be able to deliver fuel where and when needed, the plane has to be capable of staying in the air for long periods of time. Technically, that time can vary, depending on a variety of factors, and the AMC just proved that staying airborne for more than a full day is more than possible.
At the beginning of the month, Airmen deployed with the 22nd Air Refueling Wing (22nd ARW) flew to and out of McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas, keeping the plane’s wheels off the ground for a total of 24.2 hours. That marks, says the Command, “the longest duration flight” in AMC history.
The flight, made public this week by the Air Force, was made as the AMC needed to properly test the plane’s capabilities. The mission required several weeks of planning, requiring collaboration from "AMC, Boeing and various squadrons around the 22nd ARW.”
The plane had a crew of 11 people for the flight, including six pilots and a physician assistant. Two teams of two pilots rotated in the cockpit every four hours, with a third one waiting as backup.
During its day in the air, the Pegasus conducted dry contacts with another one of its breed, refueled four F-35s deployed with the USMC, and got fuel for its own needs back from another Pegasus.
We are not being told the exact flight path, but we do know it covered both of the U.S. international borders and both of the coasts. During its flight, the Pegasus covered over 9,000 miles (14,480 km).
More recently, a new aerial refueling platform entered the AMC fleet, the KC-46 Pegasus. Having had its first flight back in 2014, the flying gas station is a derivative of the civilian Boeing 767 and can carry 212,299 pounds (96,297 kg) of fuel for the planes that need it during their missions.
For it to be able to deliver fuel where and when needed, the plane has to be capable of staying in the air for long periods of time. Technically, that time can vary, depending on a variety of factors, and the AMC just proved that staying airborne for more than a full day is more than possible.
At the beginning of the month, Airmen deployed with the 22nd Air Refueling Wing (22nd ARW) flew to and out of McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas, keeping the plane’s wheels off the ground for a total of 24.2 hours. That marks, says the Command, “the longest duration flight” in AMC history.
The flight, made public this week by the Air Force, was made as the AMC needed to properly test the plane’s capabilities. The mission required several weeks of planning, requiring collaboration from "AMC, Boeing and various squadrons around the 22nd ARW.”
The plane had a crew of 11 people for the flight, including six pilots and a physician assistant. Two teams of two pilots rotated in the cockpit every four hours, with a third one waiting as backup.
During its day in the air, the Pegasus conducted dry contacts with another one of its breed, refueled four F-35s deployed with the USMC, and got fuel for its own needs back from another Pegasus.
We are not being told the exact flight path, but we do know it covered both of the U.S. international borders and both of the coasts. During its flight, the Pegasus covered over 9,000 miles (14,480 km).
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