Boeing and the U.S. Air Force successfully completed the first flight of the KC-46 Engineering, Manufacturing and Development (E...
Boeing and the U.S. Air Force successfully completed the first flight of the KC-46 Engineering, Manufacturing and Development (EMD) aircraft #1 on Dec. 28.
The plane, took off from Paine Field in Everett, Washington at 9:29 a.m. (PST) and landed three hours and 32 minutes later, at 1:01 PM PST at Boeing Field in Seattle.
EMD #1 is a provisioned Boeing 767-2C freighter and critical building block for the KC-46 missionized aerial refueler.The aircraft will undergo additional finishing works at the Boeing facility including installing the refueling boom and other military specific equipment.
The first flight of a KC-46 (EMD #2) is expected in the Spring of 2015.
“Today’s flight is a key step in the next generation of tankers,” said Col. Christopher Coombs, the KC-46 system program manager. “We know flight testing will lead to some discovery; today’s flight kick-starts that work. There is an aggressive schedule going forward into the Milestone C decision point for approval to start Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP), but we remain cautiously optimistic we can meet the mark.”
As part of a contract awarded in 2011 to design and develop the Air Force’s next-generation tanker aircraft, Boeing is building four test aircraft – two 767-2Cs and two KC-46A Tankers. The 767-2Cs enter flight test as commercial freighters prior to receiving their aerial refueling systems, while the KC-46s will fly as fully equipped tankers through the FAA and military certification process.
Boeing is on contract to deliver the first 18 of 179 KC-46 aircraft to the Air Force by 2017.
