![]() ![]() ![]() Taking turns at the stick were two aircrews from the New Hampshire ANG’s 133rd Air Refueling Squadron and one active-duty crew from the affiliated 64th ARS. It takes more than gas to stay in the air - the crew must also be sustained, and this was another refueling barrier tested and shattered on the mission. The platform’s situational awareness capabilities enable its protection in contested environments. The crew also leveraged the KC-46A’s secure and unclassified networks and situational awareness systems, which allow for a broad array of future uses. The endurance mission put these capabilities on display, taking on fuel three times throughout the flight and delivering gas to F-22 Raptors while flying a closed-loop pattern off the coast of Hawaii. Since every KC-46A can itself be refueled in flight, each aircraft can persist in operations areas to provide sustained support to armed aircraft. ![]() It takes a continuous supply of fuel to stay aloft for hours on end. The KC-46A provides strategic flexibility to the Air Force through its unique blend of persistence and presence. Bill Daley, the mission’s aircraft commander and a traditional member of the New Hampshire Air National Guard, said the flight demonstrated the aircraft’s abilities to project and connect the joint force through its capacity for endurance, aircrew sustainment, refueling, situational awareness and connectivity, and airborne mission planning. 17 36-hours to the minute after they launched. After overflying Hawaii, the crew flew across the International Dateline to Guam, before turning around and retracing their steps home to New Hampshire, where they landed on the evening of Nov. ![]() on a cold and rain-soaked morning, the crew flew west across the country and out into the Pacific Ocean. “This total force mission boldly highlights the imperative to think differently, change the way we do business, and provide options to the joint force.” “This extended mission is yet another example of capable Airmen taking charge and moving out to accelerate our employment of the KC-46A,” Minihan said. Mike Minihan, AMC commander, has relentlessly driven the command to find new ways to employ current assets in anticipation of a future fight. The point-to-point, 36-hour, 16,000-mile, multi-crew, total force sortie was the longest such mission in the history of Air Mobility Command, the active duty major command to which the 157th ARW is aligned. (AFNS) - In a feat of air mobility endurance, a KC-46A Pegasus from the 157th Air Refueling Wing flew a non-stop mission halfway around the globe and back, Nov. ![]()
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