The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded the Boeing KC-46 tanker a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC), after verifying that its refueling and mission avionics systems meet FAA requirements. This milestone marks the completion of the FAA's KC-46 certification.
To receive his STC certificate, Boeing completed a series of laboratory tests, both on the ground and in flight, started in the 2015. Within the required flight tests, the team ascertained that the KC-46 boom and systems drogue aerial refueling they meet the FAA certification criteria.
"Our Boeing / Air Force team has done an exceptional job to meet all the requirements and we also appreciate the collaboration of the FAASaid Mike Gibbons, vice president and program manager of the Boeing KC-46A tanker. "This milestone is important since it is the last of the main obstacles that precede the first delivery to the US Air Force".
The STC is one of the two flight qualifications required by the FAA. Boeing obtained an Amended Type Certificate for the configuration of its 767-2C in December 2017. While these certifications cover most of the aircraft, not all functions and military equipment can be certified by the FAA. The US Air Force can also assign a Military Type Certificate (MTC), expected in the coming months. The Boeing team has completed the MTC flight tests that include jet refueling and other military-specific defensive systems at the beginning of July.
Six aircraft supported different segments of the STC and MTC tests. Overall, they completed 3.500 flight hours and dumped over three million pounds of fuel during refueling flights with F-16, F / A-18, AV-8B, C-17, A-10, KC-10, aircraft, KC-135 and KC-46.
The KC-46, derived from the commercial Boeing 767 structure, is built at the Boeing plant in Everett, Washington. Boeing currently has a contract for the first 34 179 tanker scheduled for the US Air Force.
Once in service, the multi-role KC-46 will refuel American, allied and coalition military aircraft using its boom and hose and drogue systems, but will also be capable of loading fuel to extend its operating range. The boom allows the tanker to transfer up to 1.200 gallons of fuel per minute, while the hose and drogue systems, located on both the wing and centerline of the aircraft, allow the KC-46 to refuel small aircraft with up to 400 gallons of fuel per minute.
