The U.S. Air Force sent two KC-46A aerial refueling tankers to the Pacific Ocean to support a Bomber Task Force mission from Dec. 17-18. It was the first operational long-endurance flight for the Boeing aircraft.
Over a period of 42 hours, the tankers flew from Kansas to Indo-Pacific and landed in Guam before returning home to Kansas.
Throughout the flight, the air refueling tankers accompanied the bombers in case the bombers required additional fuel due to the possibility of a longer than expected mission, or in the event that the scheduled tankers did not arrive.
In order to minimize the time spent on the ground in Guam, the tankers’ crew performed off-site self-service to their aircraft before taking off and returning to McConnell Air Force Base by flying east.
Human Performance experts from McConnell Air Force Base played a role in the long endurance flight of the KC-46A Pegasus air refueling aircraft. These professionals worked with the aircrews to come up with sufficient crew rest schedules to reduce the amount of fatigue experienced during the mission. This was done to simulate what a flight like this would be like for a standard crew and to test how the crews would handle situations of long endurance. The goal of these measures was to minimize the number of crew members on board and to help the crews better manage fatigue during the mission.
Human Performance experts also provided support in other ways, such as ensuring that the aircrews had access to good food and activities to keep their minds occupied during rest periods. These efforts were aimed at helping the aircrews stay alert and focused throughout the mission, which was crucial for the successful execution of their tasks.
Data from flight tracking websites showed that the two tankers are MCSA98 #18-46049 and MCSA99 #20-46075.
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