{"id":21869,"date":"2015-11-17T18:38:02","date_gmt":"2015-11-17T18:38:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2015\/11\/17\/boeings-kc-46-tanker-completes-key-flight-tests\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:58:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:58:46","slug":"boeings-kc-46-tanker-completes-key-flight-tests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/training-sim\/2015\/11\/17\/boeings-kc-46-tanker-completes-key-flight-tests\/","title":{"rendered":"Boeing\u2019s KC-46 Tanker Completes Key Flight Tests"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>WASHINGTON \u2014 Boeing\u2019s KC-46 Tanker recently\u00a0<span class=\"rte rte-comment\">last week <\/span>completed aerial refueling initial airworthiness, the latest step on the road to full air refueling capability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The test plane&#8217;s 20th flight on Thursday marked the completion of a series of flight tests that validated the plane&#8217;s initial airworthiness to conduct aerial refueling operations, Boeing spokesman Charles Ramey told Defense News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span class=\"rte rte-comment\">During the flights, t <\/span>The team conducted what is called &#8220;free air stability&#8221; testing and worked to validate the plane\u2019s aerodynamic model during the flights, Ramey said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span class=\"rte rte-comment\">This <\/span>The initial airworthiness validation <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">step <\/span>is the first of two major milestones necessary for the new tanker to conduct its core mission, aerial refueling, according to Boeing spokeswoman Caroline Hutcheson. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The next step is &#8220;fuel dock&#8221; testing, in which the test team validates the fuel transfer control functions, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Soon after completing fuel dock, Boeing will begin conducting full refueling flight tests with six kinds\u00a0of\u00a0<span class=\"rte rte-comment\">different <\/span>receiver aircraft, including another KC-46, Ramey said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;It is positive progress and a major block complete in getting us to the first refueling flights that support Milestone C,&#8221; Ramey said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>The latest news is yet another sign that Boeing\u2019s KC-46 is on track after several significant delays. First flight, which was achieved Sept. 25, <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">has been <\/span>was postponed repeatedly since 2014. The latest delay was caused when a mislabeled chemical was mistakenly loaded into the aircraft\u2019s refueling line during testing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Boeing is planning for a Milestone C decision, formal approval from the Pentagon for production, between January and April 2016. The company must deliver 18 full-up tankers by August 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Email: <a href=\"mailto:lseligman@defensenews.com\">lseligman@defensenews.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Twitter: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/laraseligman?lang=en\">@laraseligman<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The test plane\u2019s 20th flight on Thursday marked the completion of a series of flight tests that validated the plane\u2019s initial airworthiness to conduct aerial refueling operations, Boeing spokesman Charles Ramey told Defense News.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":44443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":26,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[7,33,26],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1820],"class_list":["post-21869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-air","category-home","category-training-sim"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"6U34TXYWLRGD5GTL6K3HMLYJII","arc_canonical_url":"\/training-sim\/2015\/11\/17\/boeings-kc-46-tanker-completes-key-flight-tests\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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