MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. – The 22nd Air Refueling Wing put its global mission to the test by flying a KC-46 nonstop, around the world, June 29-July 1, according to a media release from the base.
The flight was the latest Maximum Endurance Operation (MEO) for the KC-46A Pegasus, Air Mobility Command’s newest tanker aircraft.
To make the 43-hour, global flight happen, the KC-46 relied on several aerial refuelings along the way, provided by six additional tankers from McConnell – two KC-135R Stratotankers and four KC-46 Pegasus tankers – which were prepositioned at key points around the world to provide critical refueling.
During the flight, the McConnell KC-46 aircrews operationalized procedures for MEOs and rotated duties and rest cycles between two complete aircrews.
MEOs go beyond the standard flight duty period, when the requirements for Rapid Global Mobility meet the challenge of extreme distance paired with accelerated timelines. Long flights are the norm in the airlift and air refueling communities, but MEOs acknowledge the potential need to rapidly deploy forces across long distances to deter, and if required, defeat potential adversaries.
In addition to the endurance training, the aircrew trained in the use of beyond line-of-sight communication systems to exercise command and control, onloaded fuel from supporting tankers and offloaded fuel to other military aircraft along the route.
The personnel on board consisted of: Col. Brent Toth, aircraft commander; Capt. Cody Donahue, instructor pilot; Capt. Daison Batangan, instructor pilot; Capt. T.J. Buckley, instructor plot; Master Sgt Jonathan Lauterbach instructor boom operator; Master Sgt Patrick Murray, instructor boom operator; Capt. Jacob Heyrend, flight surgeon; Staff Sgt Alejandro Melendez, flying crew chief; and Staff Sgt Dustin Shaffer, flying crew chief.
Mission planning and coordination was extensive, including balancing operational taskings with weather and training requirements, staging multiple aircraft around the globe to explode into theater and create an air bridge, and coordinating with several combatant commands.
This isn’t the first MEO for the 22nd ARW. In 2022, McConnell aircrews flew a KC-46 for a 24.2-hour, nonstop flight over 9,000 miles, originating from and landing back at McConnell. This flight helped refine many of the metrics for crew-rest cycles and crew fatigue monitoring for the current mission and advanced the knowledge-base for future MEOs.
Additionally, the 157th ARW based at Pease Air National Guard Base flew a KC-46 for 36-hours on a nonstop MEO covering 16,000 miles. The aircrew on that flight included two pilots from the 64th Air Refueling Squadron, a unit that is assigned to the 22nd ARW and operates with the 157th ARW in seamless Total Force Integration.
The last aerial refueling of the global KC-46 flight was performed by another KC-46 with the 22nd Air Refueling Wing commander Col. Cory Damon on board.
"The 22nd ARW's recent MEO around the world showcased not only the unmatched endurance of the KC-46 aircraft, but also the incredible resilience and professionalism of our aircrew,” said Damon. “This mission was a true test of our capabilities and a shining example of the critical role our tankers play in providing fuel and support to the Joint Force. I'm incredibly proud of our team's achievement in pushing the boundaries of what our tankers and their crews can do, and I have no doubt that this historic mission will serve as a foundation for future maximum endurance operations and further solidify our position as a key enabler of global power projection.”
This is also not the first time a KC-46 has flown an around-the-world mission, better known as global circumnavigation. In 2019, a McConnell KC-46 completed the first around-the-world flight of a KC-46, with six stops along its global route.