KC-46 Crews Ordered To Drastically Curtail Use Of Jet’s Onboard Auxiliary Power Unit (Updated)

The U.S. Air Force’s KC-46 Pegasus aerial refueling tanker fleet is experiencing problems with its auxiliary powerfulness portion (APU), a tiny secondary turbine motor astatine the backmost of the level that chiefly provides energy to tally systems anterior to the startup of the main engines. It is besides utilized to self-start the craft connected the crushed without the request for cumbersome crushed enactment equipment. The occupation has gotten truthful bad, Air Mobility Command (AMC) precocious sent retired a memo curtailing the usage of the KC-46’s APU, The War Zone has learned.

The APUs are intended to marque the KC-46s little reliant connected crushed crews and instrumentality anterior to takeoff, but the contented is having the other effect, the Air Force told us.

“AMC has seen immoderate premature failures of APUs we’re moving with the (Original Equipment Manufacturer) OEM to resolve,” an AMC spokesperson confirmed to america Monday afternoon. “This memo ensures our attraction squad uses crushed enactment instrumentality whenever imaginable to trim APU wear-and-tear, giving america the champion availability portion we enactment done repairs.”

It isn’t wide erstwhile the occupation was discovered oregon however agelong the workaround volition beryllium successful place.

Having to trust connected crushed systems, including powerfulness carts for accessory powerfulness and huffers carts for motor start, requires a larger logistical footprint and much unit connected the ground. It’s besides an inconvenience to the crew. Above each else, it diminishes the aircraft’s quality to run successful austere conditions, a cardinal constituent of the Air Force’s Agile Combat Employment (ACE) program. ACE presently refers to a acceptable of concepts for distributed and disaggregated operations centered heavy connected abbreviated announcement and different irregular deployments, often to remote, austere, oregon different non-traditional locales.

The APU contented is the latest successful a agelong drawstring of problems for the Pegasus, some systemic and incidental. Last week, we told you astir a KC -46 that mislaid its roar during an incidental disconnected the seashore of Virginia. The Pegasus had been connected a F-22 Raptor fighters refueling ngo astatine the time. You tin spot images of the aftermath of that mishap below.

The caller incidental is 1 of respective involving KC-46 booms. Last year, different Pegasus mislaid its roar portion refueling an F-15E Strike Eagle disconnected the seashore of California. The roar and the power strategy for it person been a root of superior and persistent method issues for the Pegasus fleet for years now. A hole for the KC-46’s peculiarly troublesome distant imaginativeness strategy (RVS), which roar operators successful the tanker’s main compartment usage to execute their work, is present improbable to beryllium finished earlier summertime 2027, astir 3 years down schedule, according to Defense News.

The APU problems travel arsenic the KC-46 fleet has been successful dense use. Last month, they were portion of an armada of refuelers, which besides included the KC-135 Stratotankers, that took portion successful the U.S. buildup of forces successful the portion arsenic tensions with Iran roseate to a fever pitch. They helped refuel the B-2 Spirit stealth bombers that struck Iranian atomic sites during Operation Midnight Hammer past month. The bombers dropped 14 30,000-pound GBU-57/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bunker buster bombs connected Iran’s Fordow and Natanz atomic facilities, marking the archetypal combat usage of those weapons.

We reached retired to Air Mobility Command Monday evening to find much details astir the APU curtailment and volition update this communicative with immoderate pertinent accusation provided.

In the meantime, the Air Force is moving to hole yet different occupation connected its newest tanker.

Update: 5:58 PM Eastern July 15 –

An Air Mobility Command spokesperson provided further details astir the KC-46 APU problems.

“The updated guidance connected the usage of the KC-46A’s Auxiliary Power Units is successful spot for the full KC-46A fleet arsenic each craft has an APU. As described successful the archetypal response, the updated guidance is intended to trim unnecessary deterioration connected the APUs during crushed operations & grooming erstwhile a Powered Aerospace Ground Equipment (AGE) strategy tin beryllium used, peculiarly successful airy of an uptick successful request associated with accrued operations and grooming tempos wrong our KC-46A units. The Program Office, Air Mobility Command, Boeing, and Honeywell are moving to code mean reliability concerns and repair pipelines for the APUs arsenic soon arsenic possible. The concern does not impact the transportation process, nor does it represent a caller deficiency against the platform.”

Contact the author: [email protected]