Ramona Adams
Boeing has conducted the first flight of a 767-2C aircraft that serves as the fourth and final test aircraft of the KC-46 Pegasus fleet, joining another 767-2C unit and two KC-46 tankers.
The company said Tuesday the program’s second 767-2C aircraft – known as EMD-3 — flew for one hour and 40 minutes to a maximum altitude of 39,000 feet as pilots monitored operational engine, flight controls and environmental systems.
Boeing said the two 767-2C aircraft are KC-46 units without the aerial refueling system, but both aircraft will eventually be developed into KC-46 tankers.
The fleet’s first 767-2C aircraft, called EMD-1, accumulated 315 flight test hours since it first flew in December 2014 while EMD-2, the program’s first KC-46 tanker, achieved 240 flight test hours since its maiden flight in September 2014, Boeing noted.
The company further said the first KC-46 tanker also conducted refueling missions for F-16, F/A-18 and AV-8B aircraft while the second tanker dubbed EMD-4 has reached 25 flight hours since March 2.
Boeing built the four aircraft as part of a U.S. Air Force contract that was awarded in 2011.
The company seeks to roll out 179 KC-46 aircraft for the service branch.
