The Air Force is on track to receive the required 18 KC-46A tankers and to meet initial operational capability in August of 2017, despite some testing delays, USAF Vice Chief Gen. David Goldfein said Tuesday. Normally, aircraft would be produced and introduced into the force one by one, but in this case the Air Force will get “a number of aircraft all at once,” he told members of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support. There have been issues with some boom axial loads, but Goldfein said, “we think we actually have the software fix in place.” The Pegasus tanker recently refueled a Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier II in flight over Washington state using its hose and drogue system as part of its Milestone C demonstration, according to a press release. The new tanker also has refueled an F-16 and a Navy F-18A. (See also Tanker Time is Tight from the February issue of Air Force Magazine.)
As the Air Force readied for its June 21-22 strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, the service was also putting its Agile Combat Employment strategy into action, dispersing combat aircraft and Airmen from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar in preparation for a possible Iranian retaliatory attack. Some defense experts say…
