After years of waiting, the US is close to delivering to Israel the first of at least six KC-46 midair refueling aircraft for future potential attacks on Iran and other distant targets, the Defense Ministry announced on Monday.
The first of the KC-46 aircraft undertook a maiden test flight within the US, and is expected to be delivered to the Jewish state in around a month.
This delivery could be a game-changer in providing Israel much greater independence regarding whether it may decide to strike the Islamic regime, the Yemen Houthis, and any other potential distant adversaries in the future, even if some later US administration may oppose such a strike.
In the short-term, the move is suddenly surprisingly less necessary and imminent than once imagined.
Israeli assumptions had always been that the IDF might need to attack Iran without American help, which could require midair refueling.
The air force has had such a capability, but it has been limited.
However, ultimately Israel had some American help in attacking Iran, and has pushed its nuclear and ballistic missiles threats off by some years.
Still, those threats are not gone and could come back and when they do, it is possible that a future US administration may be less ready to assist Israel, and may even oppose a strike.
In that case, the KC-46 will enable Israeli F-35s, F-16s, F15s, and others to have much more significant mid air refueling capabilities.
Most of Iran is at least 1,500 kilometers away, some parts are 2,000 kilometers, and the Yemen Houthis are mostly at least 1,800 kilometers away, with some parts beyond 2,000 kilometers.
Recently, the air force revealed that it has learned some new fast take-off capabilities to be able to fly to closer portions of Iran and back without refueling, but this significantly limited what targets can be hit within Iran, and how long the aircraft can remain in the sky if any part of the mission goes wrong or is delayed.
US to deliver at least six tanker aircraft to Israel
This Boeing KC-46 aircraft is the first of six tanker aircraft procured by the ministry’s Mission to the US and is part of a wide-scale force buildup program managed by the ministry on behalf of the IDF, which includes purchasing additional F-35s and new F-15IAs as part of a new NIS 350 billion decade-long budget focused on boosting future military power and independence.
According to the ministry, the tanker aircraft – designated “Gideon” in Hebrew – will be equipped with Israeli systems and adapted to the air force’s operational requirements enabling it to extend operational range and maintain air superiority across all theaters.
In July 2025, sources warned that Israeli delays on moving forward with aspects of its purchasing process allowed Japan and Italy to jump ahead of it in terms of receiving additional KC-46 aircraft.
In fact, there had been points when Israel could have received the KC-46 aircraft in 2025, though at the very start, 2026 was the expected delivery time period.
In June 2023, The Jerusalem Post visited a Boeing KC-46 midair refueling aircraft at a conference in Paris and participated in a briefing within the aircraft with US pilot Capt. Cody Nelson.
Nelson, who has flown missions all over the world, said the KC-46 was “like a mobile gas tank” that carries 207,000 pounds of fuel and can refuel a wide variety of aircraft, including the F-35, F-16, F-15 and F-22 (which America possess but Israel does not), thereby covering Israel’s various combat aircraft.
If properly coordinated to allocate a certain amount of fuel, each KC-46 could refuel around a dozen aircraft, he said.
The KC-46 can fly 16 hours straight and up to 24 hours if it receives midair refueling from another aircraft, Nelson said.
Moreover, its advanced avionics, compared with other similar aircraft, and its transparent glass cockpit provides pilots a significantly improved visual outlook, he added.
The KC-46 does not refuel drones.
Besides the main reason that Israel wants the KC-46 with regard to Iran, the aircraft also has other potential uses.
The large aircraft can transport around 110 troops and can also be used to handle 22 different medical rescue situations, Nelson said.
The KC-46 is outfitted with a kitchen, oven, bathroom and temperature controls that allow it to better regulate the temperature levels, he said.
Source:
www.jpost.com
