KC-46 Tankers Expand Mission Workload, Start Refueling F-35s

PORTSMOUTH, N.H.—Long-troubled U.S. Air Force KC-46 tankers are continuing to expand their mission load and recently began refueling F-35 stealth fighters.

KC-46 aircraft based here at Pease Air National Guard Base are refueling F-35s flown by the Vermont Air National Guard, according to Col. Nelson Perron, the operations group commander of the 157th Air Refueling Wing.

Earlier this year, the Air Force cleared the KC-46 for limited operations while Boeing makes necessary updates and modifications to get the  tanker war-ready. The KC-46 is certified to refuel the F-35 under certain restrictions, according to an air mobility command spokeswoman. 

The wing here is the first National Guard unit to fly the KC-46, which replaced its Eisenhower-era KC-135 Stratotankers. Perron said the New Hampshire wing is also flying “coronet” missions, where the KC-46s gas up fighter jets on long-distance flights. KC-46 aircraft from Pease have also flown troop transport missions.

Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks was briefed about the KC-46 during a visit here Wednesday.

To date, Boeing has delivered 46 KC-46 tankers to four U.S. Air Force refueling wings, a Boeing spokeswoman said in an email. The New Hampshire Air National Guard received its first KC-46 in August 2019 and its 12th and final aircraft in February.

As of last week, KC-46 aircraft have flown more than 5,000 flights and passed nearly 45 million pounds of fuel to other aircraft, Boeing said.

The KC-46 has experienced numerous developmental and quality control issues throughout its development. Boeing has lost more than $5 billion on the project and must replace cameras used for refueling with higher resolution technology. 

Air Force officials here spoke highly of the plane—which is based on the Boeing 767 airliner—compared to the 50-year-old planes they replaced. The Air Force plans to buy 179 KC-46 aircraft.