5/29/2023 0 Comments Air mobility command e testing![]() “The LWIR cameras on the boom currently don’t have the fidelity required.” The Air Force plans to remedy that by installing new boom sensor cameras for the aircraft’s Remote Vision System 2.0 (RVS 2.0). The tanker is unable to do night vision goggle refueling “with complete blackout,” the command has said. KC-46A night refueling–important for special operations missions–is still limited for the tanker, although it is able to perform night refueling with both planes alight, per AMC. Marine Corps F-35Bs by Lockheed Martin and was refueled by another KC-46A from McConnell, the Air Force said. During the more than 9,000-mile journey, rotating pilots caught sleep every few hours, as the aircraft did dry refueling runs with another KC-46A, refueled four U.S. In May, a KC-46A from the 22nd Air Refueling Wing at McConnell AFB, Kan., flew more than 24 hours straight–the longest mission in the history of Air Mobility Command (AMC), according to the Air Force ( Defense Daily, Oct. “The boom operator was co-located in the cockpit with the pilot, except when performing boom operations and a second instructor pilot was on board throughout the entire mission to serve as a safety observer,” AMC said. 25 flights at the Utah Test and Training Range included two sorties with just a pilot and boom operator–the first a pattern sortie and the second an aerial refueling sortie. Whether the Air Force may resort to operating the KC-46A without a co-pilot due to the service’s pilot shortage also seems uncertain.ĪMC said that the Oct. It seems unclear how having fewer personnel aboard the KC-46A during combat missions would help accomplish those missions. The KC-46A normally has a pilot, co-pilot, and a boom operator, as well as other personnel for longer flights and aeromedical evacuation missions. “The mission was part of AMC’s broader exploration of tactics, techniques and procedures that address the unique stresses that would come with a high-end, peer-competitor fight.” “This employment concept allows the KC-46 to complete its primary mission with a reduced crew complement when needed to rapidly launch aircraft with threats inbound or extend long-range operations in the air with offset crews,” the command said. ![]() 25 to validate procedures for operating with a limited aircrew for certain potential high-end combat scenarios,” AMC said. Mike Minihan, the 22nd Air Refueling Wing accomplished a KC-46A Pegasus mission without a copilot Oct. Air Force Air Mobility Command (AMC) has flight tested a Boeing KC-46A Pegasus tanker without a co-pilot to verify the aircraft is able to fly with a limited aircrew in ad hoc high-need combat missions against China or Russia. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |