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Second Boeing KC-46 tanker takes flight

Published 3:14 pm Thursday, March 3, 2016

By Dan Catchpole

Boeing’s second KC-46 tanker takes flight for the first time at Paine Field.

Boeing’s second KC-46 tanker takes flight for the first time at Paine Field.

EVERETT — The Boeing Co.’s second KC-46A aerial refueling tanker flew for the first time Thursday. The airplane flew from Paine Field in Everett to Boeing Field in Seattle.

The tanker is the program’s fourth test airplane. The others are the first tanker and two planes that are a non-militarized version known as a 767-2C. Boeing plans to deliver all four to the U.S. Air Force as completed KC-46A Pegasus tankers.

“Adding a second tanker to the flight test program is very important as we move into the next phase of testing,” USAF Col. John Newberry said in a news release from Boeing. “The team will initially use the aircraft to test mission system avionics and exterior lighting. Later, it will share the air refueling effort with the first KC-46.”

Newberry is the Air Force’s KC-46 System program manager.

The first fully-militarized tanker flew in late September 2015, about nine months behind Boeing’s internal schedule. Boeing has shortened its testing schedule to make up for the delays in order to deliver the tankers on time.

The company is contractually required to deliver the first 18 combat-ready airplanes to the Air Force by August 2017.

Dan Catchpole: 425-339-3454; dcatchpole@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @dcatchpole.

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