Recently, the 22nd Air Refueling Wing of the U.S. Air Force has received the first sets of Wing Aerial Refueling Pods (WARP) for its KC-46 Pegasus aircraft to undergo testing in the near future at the McConnell Air Force Base.
According to information provided by the U.S. Air Force, the new pods are intended to increase fuel carrying capacity and, in turn, be compatible with more receiver systems. Sergeant Kyle VanderWagen, the First, Deputy Director of Testing at the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center (AFOTEC), stated, “Reducing the amount of time receivers spend refueling is important (…) The WARP should allow us to offload fuel twice as fast… which will enable them to return to their primary mission faster.”
The initial system installation was carried out by the 22nd Maintenance Squadron, also on a KC-46 Pegasus aircraft, just over a month ago. The setup and subsequent testing were observed by the 22nd Air Refueling Wing and the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center.
The certification process for these new pods began in 2019, leading Colonel Robert Meadows to make the following statements: ‘We have gone through numerous plans, processes, and training events to get to this point (…) Over the next two months, we plan to conduct flights with other aircraft to test the pods. This will provide training to our aircrews and maintenance teams on servicing and inspecting the pods on the wings, which will enhance the capabilities of the KC-46.’
Meanwhile, the initial flight tests were conducted on March 19th by the 344th Air Refueling Squadron, which refueled two U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornets from a KC-46. The same evaluation was carried out the next day with AV-8B Harrier II aircraft belonging to the U.S. Marine Corps. On that occasion, the mission was conducted by the 349th Air Refueling Squadron.
Finally, it is confirmed that the 22nd Air Refueling Squadron will be responsible for continuing the evaluation and training process, both for crews and mechanics, in the use of the WARP pod. The task at hand will extend over the next few months at McConnell Air Force Base, with the potential objective of integrating them into the new order of 15 additional KC-46A Pegasus aircraft placed by the U.S. Air Force at the end of 2023.
Image Credits: United States Transportation Command
You may also like: The U.S. Air Force has deployed four B-1B Lancer bombers in Spain
