Structural Flaws in Boeing KC-46 Refueling Aircraft Further Delays it’s Delivery to Israeli Air Force

Due to structural flaws found in two of the four new KC-46 refueling tankers that were scheduled to be delivered to the US  Military Supply Centre, Boeing has halted supplies of these aircraft.

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) hoped to receive the two first Boeing KC-46A aerial refueling aircraft in 2026. The other two included in the signed contract were expected to land in Israel in 2028.

Israel plans to get 8 KC-46A, but at this point there is no available budget.

In 2022 , Boeing has been awarded a $927 million contract for four multi-mission KC-46A tankers for the Israel Air Force (IAF) through the US Foreign Military Sales process. The KC-46 will replace Israel’s fleet of ”Re’em” Boeing 707 tankers.

“The acquisition process of these urgently needed aircraft took much more time than normally needed for such a process and this is mainly because of some bureaucratic hurdles,” a source in the Israeli ministry of defence said.

The KC-46 provides the ability to refuel Israeli and allied military aircraft, relay data and enable rapid mobility for personnel, cargo and aeromedical missions. The platform features multiple layers of combat-ready defensive systems and countermeasures, including covert capabilities, to detect, avoid, defeat and survive threats.

After the KC-46A will land in Israel it will be equipped with special Israeli developed systems that are aimed at protecting the aircraft and allow it to integrate in the structure of the IAF’s comprehensive combat system in different aspects.

The need for advanced aerial refueling aircraft stems mainly from the fact that in the future the IAF will have to operate against targets in Iran. In the recent Israeli attacks on targets in Iran, the F-15 and F-35 were refueled by the IAF ”Re’em” air tankers – Boeing 707 that have been modified in Israel for this mission. It has become very complicated to maintain these old platforms.

Maj General (Ret.) Eitan Ben Eliyahu, former commander of the IAF said that the need for new aerial refueling  aircraft is critical. “The new type that will be supplied in the coming years will be capable of performing longer missions, mainly because its own fuel consumption is lower than this of the currently used Boeing 707. We have to remember that in order to get to some potential enemies of Israel,  flight paths are not always direct ones but longer because they pass in some more airspaces.”