The Israeli Ministry of Defense has said it will seek to buy two more Boeing KC-46A Pegasus tankers from the United States, as it invests in its fleet of in-flight refueling tankers, heavily utilized in the recent campaign against Iran, as well as for other long-range combat missions and domestic ones. While Israel has already committed to buying four KC-46s, it currently relies on a dwindling fleet of veteran Boeing 707 tankers. The 12-day war against Iran earlier this year, in particular, led to questions about Israeli Air Force (IAF) aerial refueling capacity, and the U.S. government was forced to deny that it had provided additional tanker support for the operation.
“The fifth and sixth [KC-46] refueling aircraft will strengthen the IAF — the IDF’s long-range strategic arm — enabling it to reach distant theaters with greater force and scope,” said Maj. Gen. Amir Baram, director general of the Israeli Ministry of Defense, earlier this week.
Baram was announcing re-equipment plans that also include additional armored vehicles and first-person-view (FPV) drones. The KC-46 acquisition is set to move forward once approval has been granted by Israel’s Defense Procurement Ministerial Committee. Valued at a reported $500 million, the tanker deal will be funded through U.S. financial aid.
The “new aircraft will be equipped with Israeli systems and adapted to the Israeli Air Force’s operational requirements,” the Israeli Ministry of Defense added.
Ido Nehushtan, president of Boeing Israel, told Breaking Defense that the company “takes pride in its longstanding partnership with Israel, a relationship that dates back to the nation’s establishment. The KC-46A tanker aircraft will provide the world’s most advanced multi-mission aerial refueling capability to the IAF.”
Back in 2020, the U.S. State Department approved the potential sale of eight KC-46As to Israel, with the entire package having an estimated price tag of $2.4 billion.
“The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to U.S. national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability,” the U.S. Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said at the time. “This proposed sale is consistent with those objectives.”
A year later, Israel formally approved plans for its first order of KC-46s. Israel reportedly also inquired about whether it could take delivery of its first pair of KC-46s from a lot the U.S. Air Force had already contracted Boeing to build. This would allow the IAF to get these aircraft earlier than would otherwise be possible.
Finally, in 2022, the U.S. Department of Defense awarded Boeing a $930-million contract for the first four KC-46s for Israel, with deliveries due before the end of 2026.
It’s unclear to what degree Israel’s procurement timeline for the KC-46 has been affected by the type’s well-publicized problems in U.S. service, but the move to increase the purchase signals confidence in the program and will be a boon for Boeing as it seeks further foreign sales for the type.
By the time the first IAF KC-46s arrive, they are expected to be fitted with the next-generation version of the critical Remote Vision System (RVS) that has proven so challenging to perfect. Ironically, the Israeli 707s that the KC-46 will replace have long used a locally developed RVS that has apparently proven very effective, and which you can read more about here and here.
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