The 412th Test Wing from Edwards AFB, Calif., has deployed a large detachment to JB Lewis-McChord, Wash., to support the first stage of KC-46 Pegasus developmental testing. “We basically set up a composite wing and a focal point to coordinate all the operations in support of the KC-46” over the next 15 months, 412th TW project manager Tim O’Hearn said in a release. “We have six different airframes,” including F-16s, F-15Es, A-10s, KC-135s, KC-10s, and C-17s that will act as receiver, chase, and test support aircraft, he added. Two F-16s and nine maintainers are already at McChord and ?supported the KC-46’s first flight late last month, and approximately 120 personnel from Edwards and elsewhere will rotate through, directly supporting KC-46 testing. “It’s a pretty big footprint,” said O’Hearn. Aircraft at McChord are supporting the 418th Test Squadron, Det. 1 in Seattle, tasked with KC-46 testing. The detachment will remain at McChord until the first two KC-46s move to Edwards for continued trials toward the end of 2016.
NASA Boss: Race to Moon Has National Security Stakes
Sept. 15, 2026
NASA is pushing hard to get astronauts back to the moon by 2028—and the urgency is driven in no small part by the national security implications of doing so before China does, Administrator Jared Isaacman said Sept. 15.
