{"id":42568,"date":"2022-04-21T17:01:41","date_gmt":"2022-04-21T17:01:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2022\/04\/21\/israel-has-a-kc-46-problem-heres-the-solution\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T20:54:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T20:54:00","slug":"israel-has-a-kc-46-problem-heres-the-solution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2022\/04\/21\/israel-has-a-kc-46-problem-heres-the-solution\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel has a KC-46 problem. Here\u2019s the solution."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Eying growing and distinct threats that may require the United States and Israel to conduct long-range airstrikes, both militaries urgently need to replace their aging aerial refueling fleets with the modernized KC-46A. The problem is the aircraft has been plagued by development challenges and delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is there are steps the U.S. and Israel can take together to avoid further delays and reduce the time it takes for Israel\u2019s Air Force to use its KC-46s in real-world missions once the new tanker arrives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An announcement Tuesday<\/a> that Boeing and the U.S. Air Force have agreed on a plan to further upgrade the aircraft\u2019s problematic Remote Vision System<\/a> is a positive sign. Regardless, even as Iran continues to inch toward a nuclear weapons capability, Israel knows it likely won\u2019t receive its first KC-46 from the United States until 2025 or later. That\u2019s a problem given Israel\u2019s reliance on decades-old 707 refuelers that are increasingly expensive, difficult to maintain and lack some of the capabilities of the KC-46.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a concern for the United States, too. When the Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced the administration\u2019s approval<\/a> of the sale of KC-46s to Israel in March 2020, the agency noted that \u201cthe sale improves Israel\u2019s national security posture as a key U.S. ally,\u201d lessens the burden on U.S. aerial refueling assets and serves U.S. national interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this point, to expedite the delivery of the KC-46 to Israel and lock in Jerusalem\u2019s place in the queue for the aircraft, the most important thing is to finalize the contract for the Israeli KC-46 aircraft. If this contract is not signed by August, the delivery of the KC-46 to Israel may be delayed by an additional year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But finalizing the contract is not enough, and the U.S. Air Force should not stop there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israel\u2019s Air Force needs the ability to employ its KC-46s in operations against adversaries. That requires Israeli pilots who know how to fly the aircraft and use its avionics, crews that can operate the KC-46\u2032s refueling capabilities, fighter pilots who know how to receive fuel from the tanker, and ground personnel who possess the requisite maintenance and sustainment know-how. That\u2019s a daunting list of capabilities that will take time to develop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once Israel receives its KC-46s, it could take months before they\u2019re ready to be employed in vital, real-world operations. The good news, however, is that these capabilities can be developed in both the United States and Israel long before the first Israeli KC-46s arrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"U.S.
U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II and Israeli air force F-35I Lightning II aircraft approach a U.S. Air Force KC-10 Extender to refuel during exercise Enduring Lightning II over southern Israel Aug. 2, 2020. (Master Sgt. Patrick OReilly\/Air Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. Air Force should start by allotting training slots for Israeli pilots, crew members and maintainers in the appropriate KC-46-related courses in fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2024. The goal should be for Israel to have the necessary personnel trained in advance of the earliest possible arrival date of the KC-46.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This flight crew training<\/a> is conducted at Altus Air Force Base in Oklahoma<\/a>, consisting of academic, simulator and flight portions. In anticipation of receiving KC-46s, Tokyo sent Japan Air Self-Defense Force personnel to Altus to complete this training<\/a>, and the U.S. Air Force should ensure Israelis have the same opportunity. An initial cadre of Israeli KC-46 maintenance personnel, who would later train other Israelis, could also be trained in the United States. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Admittedly, as the U.S. Air Force ramps up its fielding of the KC-46, many of these training programs and schools may have limited slots, and the Pentagon cannot afford to delay the training of American airmen. To avoid that scenario and ensure Israel has the necessary personnel trained in time, Congress should work with the Air Force now to ensure the U.S. KC-46 training base has the necessary resources, personnel and throughput for FY23 and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the Israeli personnel are trained, the Pentagon and Israel\u2019s Defense Ministry should use the U.S. Air Force\u2019s Military Personnel Exchange Program<\/a> to embed some Israeli pilots as well as crew and maintenance personnel in U.S. Air Force units already operating the KC-46. That will create valuable opportunities for Americans and Israelis to share best practices, increasing the readiness of both air forces and improving their ability to operate together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a potential hurdle to this plan, some might cite the fact that the U.S. Air Force is not expected to declare the KC-46 has reached initial or full operational capability before 2024, but that misses the point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. Air Force\u2019s KC-46s have already flown over 10,000 missions since January 2019, operating above every continent except for Antarctica. That includes four U.S. KC-46s operating from Mor\u00f3n Air Base in Spain and conducting air refueling over Germany and Poland for U.S. fighters and bombers bolstering NATO\u2019s eastern front following Moscow\u2019s invasion of Ukraine. Despite some of its development challenges, the KC-46 is already approved<\/a> to refuel 85% of the aircraft in the Pentagon\u2019s inventory that are capable of aerial refueling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accordingly, once Israelis start to complete the KC-46 training in the U.S., there will be ample opportunities to embed them in U.S. Air Force KC-46 units conducting operations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To reinforce these programs, Air Mobility Command<\/a>, working with Central Command<\/a>, should also look for opportunities to forward deploy U.S. KC-46s to Israel for a few weeks or months, just as Air Mobility Command is already doing in Europe. That would help Israelis prepare for the arrival of their own KC-46s and answer open questions regarding the tanker\u2019s ability to refuel Israeli F-16I fighter aircraft. <\/p>\n\n\n\t