After years of struggling to get the KC-46A Pegasus an updated and improved remote vision system for aerial refueling, Air Force officials say the end of the saga is in sight.
aerial refueling
The Air Force has started upgrading some of its KC-46 refuelers with new beyond-line-of-sight connectivity to help them have greater battlefield awareness, the latest step in a long-term plan to equip tanker and airlift fleets with tools that have long been reserved for fighter and ...
The Air Force is quietly wrapping up a round of market research on arming its tanker fleet with weapons capable of shooting down incoming enemy threats. The service awarded contracts to four firms beginning in February to study options for equipping refuelers such as the ...
Boeing has completed initial flight testing on its redesigned Remote Vision System for the KC-46 tanker, the defense giant announced June 4. The new system, dubbed RVS 2.0, is meant to replace the original camera and video system boom operators use to refuel other aircraft, ...
Lawmakers drafting the 2027 defense policy bill worry the Air Force is not moving fast enough to arm its tanker fleet with new protection systems capable of defeating incoming missile threats.
The Air Force pulled a KC-135 out of storage at the “Boneyard” in early April, three weeks after another one of the service’s Stratotankers crashed in Iraq during Operation Epic Fury.
The Air Force says it has formed a plan with Boeing to get key upgrades deployed across the KC-46 tanker fleet faster—but the service acknowledged it won't start fielding the refueler’s upgraded vision system until 2028, a slight schedule slip.
The Air Force wants to spend more than a half billion dollars through 2031 on a new protection system designed for cargo and refueling aircraft that features onboard sensors and weapons to track and take down enemy missiles and drones.
The Air Force is planning to retire more tankers than it buys in its fiscal 2027 budget, but an increase in deliveries of new KC-46s next year will cover the gap to ensure the service satisfies a congressional mandate to build up the overall refueling ...
The Air Force released new photos of the B-21 Raider conducting aerial refueling tests with a KC-135 Stratotanker—confirming a key milestone in the new long-range strike bomber’s development and offering a rare glimpse of the secretive aircraft’s features.
In an effort to improve connectivity aboard Air Force tanker and mobility aircraft, the Pentagon’s commercial technology innovation unit wants a system to install new applications on aircraft, such as a moving map display that helps aircrew see through the fog of war.
Contractors Northrop Grumman and Embraer are teaming up to offer the Air Force and U.S. allies a tactical mobility aircraft—designed for aerial refueling and cargo transport—to support Airmen operating from remote airfields with soft-soil airstrips, company officials said Feb. 19.
