Boeing tanker refuel 4 aircraft in the air

The Boeing KC-46 Pegasus military tanker refuel 4 aircraft for the first time. They received fuel at the same time.

The first copy of the air tanker was handed over to the U.S. Air Force in January 2019. But aircraft testing continues. This time, the equipment of the Boeing KC-46 Pegasus should have been tested in a situation as close as possible to real conditions.

He was faced with the task of refueling at the same time 4 aircraft. The tanker delivered about 7 tons of aviation fuel. According to information received at the agency’s press center, the US Air Force decided to test the reliability of the KC-46 Pegasus at maximum load on refueling equipment.

Using a cone hose on the right and left wing consoles, 1.8 tons of fuel received two carrier-based Boeing F / A-18E / F Super Hornet fighters. Another McDonnell Douglas F / A-18 Hornet was refueled with 2.3 tons of fuel using a cone hose located under the fuselage. A fueling rod in the tail allowed transferring about 2.3 tons of fuel to the tanks of the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter.

Testing of the Boeing KC-46 Pegasus, in particular, the refueling procedure, was successful. No problems were reported onboard the tanker or equipment receiving the fuel.