Hi all
And I’m just sharing/ putting into the HC forum a bit more research in relation to the US airforce KC 46a modified Boeing 737 tanker
(which has a team of airforce-sponsored experts from the Georgia Tech Research Institute closely focused on CVM commercial approvals/developments) .
If/when SMN gets those commercial approvals I expect it would want installations quickly and for more applications than just aft pressure bulhead.
The story below notes an order with Boeing last quarter for a $184m upgrade to the KC 46 communication systems so clearly the USAF is prepared to spend freely when it wants something.
The US Air Force (USAF) will pay Boeing $184 million for a package to upgrade communication systems on the KC-46A Pegasus aerial tanker.
Boeing said on 31 March it has won a contract to enhance “line-of-sight and beyond-line-of-sight communications technologies with anti-jamming and encryption features”.
Source: US Air Force
A US Air Force KC-46A tops off an F-15 Strike Eagle fighter
“The KC-46A is built to integrate cutting-edge capabilities directly into the DNA of the aircraft as the needs of the mission evolve,” says James Burgess, Boeing KC-46 programme manager.
Boeing describes the KC-46A as offering “more-secure communications and more data integration than any tanker”.
“The KC-46A is transforming the role of the tanker for the 21st century and will continue to expand its battle space network capabilities,” the company notes.
The USAF recently doubled down on the problem-plagued tanker, when senior officials said they will likely cancel the so-called “bridge tanker” programme. The service will instead buy additional KC-46s and focus on designing a new, clean-sheet stealthy tanker.
That platform, formerly referred to as KC-Z, is known as the Next Generation Air-refuelling System.
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, in remarks on 16 January, said the service is seeking to move its tanker fleet away from transport or commercial-based designs and toward platforms custom built for a high-threat environment.
“Traditionally, we could take a commercial grade of aircraft and turn it into a tanker or transport,” Kendall noted. “They’re not designed with a high set of requirements for survivability or resilience, and the threats are taking that freedom away from us.”
In the meantime, the USAF has moved the KC-46 into full operational status, despite multiple engineering faults blamed on Boeing.
The aircraft’s refuelling boom initially was not compatible with lighter tactical jets, including Fairchild Republic A-10 Warthogs. Boeing is also redesigning the refuelling boom Remote Vision System after design flaws prevented the original system from working in all flight conditions.
Despite those challenges, the USAF has been putting the KC-46 through its paces. The service completed a record-setting 36h roundtrip endurance flight between New Hampshire and Guam in November, as well as a limited-crew refuelling the month before.
As per @Hatrack post on 28/06/23 [ref]band @DrDazmo2 post at the start of this thread there has been some strong recommendations from the Georgia Tech Research Institute around installing CVM into the Pegasus tanker and the recent paper cited by Hatrack was written in consultation with David Piotrowski - Delta’s chief engineer and a long time follower/expert of the CVM stort.
(NB Reminder that Delta holds a long term sales agent agreement with SMN about which we still have not been updated* ).
According to the story in the spoiler there are big upgrades planned for the Pegasus so hopefully these will tie in with SMN getting FAA certification.
Beyond this FWIW a bit more on David Piotrowski is here on his [linked in page].
As you can see, he is actually a graduate of Geogia Tech Institute and is actually the SENIOR principal engineer at Delta where he has worked for 23 years (almost as long as CVM has been trying to get some commercial sales!)
(20min delay)