As Iran Threat Looms. Israel Buys Four Boeing KC-46A Refueling Tankers to Boost Aerial Capabilities
Edited by: Fern Sidman
The Boeing aircraft company signed a $927 million contract to deliver four KC-46A aerial refuelers to the Israeli military, the Israeli Defense Ministry and Boeing announced this week, according to a report on the DefenseNews.com website.
The contract which was signed on Wednesday, involves 100% Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to Israel, with funds in the amount of $886.24 obligated at the time of award, as was reported on the IsraelDefense.co.il web site.
The ministry agreed to purchase the planes in January, following years of delays in finalizing a contract that stemmed from budgeting issues and local elections, according to Defense News. The aircraft, which will arrive in 2025 and 2026, are coming from Boeing’s Lot 8 production.
The Israel Defense web site reported the KC-46A are largely considered to be the top refueling tanker on the market, and can fly for 11-12 hours and refuel dozens of combat aircrafts as well. The contract also includes mission equipment and installation, pre-delivery integrated logistics support, and technical publications, the report on Israel Defense said. The work itself will be performed in Seattle, Washington.
In a statement, Israel Defense Minister Benny Gantz thanked the U.S. Defense Department for approving the agreement. “I began promoting this agreement, which includes the expedited implementation of U.S. FMF [foreign military financing], two years ago, in coordination with the Ministries of Finance and Justice. This essential initiative will be launched after the Israel Ministry of Defense will sign the agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense,” he said, according to the Defense News report.
He added that the KC-46A tankers are part of a procurement effort that will see Israel buy F-35 fighter jets, helicopters, submarines and advanced munition to “enable the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] to face security challenges near and far. This is yet another testament to the powerful alliance and strategic ties between the defense establishments and governments of Israel and the United States.”
“The refueling aircraft that are being purchased, along with the procurement of the F-35 squadron, helicopters, submarines and advanced munition, will enable the IDF to face security challenges near and far,” Gantz added, according to the Israel Defense web site.
The Israeli Defense Minister expressed his appreciation and sincere gratitude to the Department of Defense for granting approval for the deal. Gantz said that, “This is yet another testament to the powerful alliance and strategic ties between the defense establishments and governments of Israel and the United States.”
The OvertDefense.com web site reported that Israel currently operates seven Boeing 707-based Re’em and four Lockheed Martin KC-130H Karnaf tanker aircraft. The Re’em tankers have been in service since the 1970s, and are reaching the end of their lifespan. The KC-46, on the other hand, is based on the 767 platform and it is the newest tanker produced by Boeing. The KC-46 is currently in service with the United States Air Force, with 36 aircraft in the fleet, the report said.
A statement from Boeing confirmed parties finalized the contract for the KC-46A, of which the American company has sold 179 total, primarily to the United States, according to the Defense News web site. Japan is the only other country operating the aircraft type.
Previous reports in Israeli media indicated the country wanted an earlier delivery of the plane amid concerns about its aging fleet of Boeing 707 tankers and tension with Iran.
The Israel Defense web site reported that the DOD announced this procurement as the resurrection of the Iran nuclear deal seems imminent, while Israel is engaged in fervent attempts to prevent this from happening – or at least requesting that some serious alterations to the text be made. Recently, Defense Minister Gantz visited the US and met with National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan. Israel’s Head of Mossad, Dadi Barnea also made a trip to Washington in an attempt to have the deal modified so that Iran does not become an existential threat to Israel and other countries in the Middle East, the IsraelDefense.co.il site said.
Hours before the tanker deal was announced, Israel’s Prime Minister Yair Lapid spoke on the phone with President Joe Biden, who reiterated the US’s deep commitment to Israel’s security and to preserving its capabilities of deterring its enemies and defending itself against any threat, the Israel Defense web site said.
Israel’s official stance is that, while it does not oppose a deal with Iran per se – what’s on the table at the moment is a bad deal, that would only result in billions of dollars flowing towards terrorism, and in an eventual Iranian bomb. On multiple occasions, Israel’s leaders have said that Jerusalem will not be bound to this agreement, and that Israel will do anything and everything to protect itself, according to the Israel Defense site stated.
Reuters reported that Israel welcomed former President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Obama initiated 2015 Iranian nuclear deal as it was deemed insufficient for denying its arch-foe the means to make a bomb.
With the current U.S. administration and other world powers trying to renew the deal, Israel has signaled it may eventually resort to preemptive action, Reuters reported. Some independent experts, however, believe Iran’s nuclear sites are too distant, dispersed and defended for Israel to be able to deliver lasting damage, according to the Reuters report.
On Thursday, Fox News reported that over 5,000 former senior Israeli defense officers signed a letter urging President Biden not to sign a renewed Iran nuclear deal.
The ex-officials claimed that the new deal would give Iran a viable path to nuclear weapons.
“Despite your administration’s repeated declared commitment to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons, this agreement creates a clear legal pathway for Iran to obtain nuclear weapons by 2031, while denying the signatories of any tools to prevent that eventuality,” said the letter written by Israel’s Defense and Security Forum and addressed to Biden, according to a report on the Israel National News web site.
Last week, it was first reported that a renewed Iran deal could be signed soon, after Iran dropped certain demands that the US would not go along with, as was reported by INN on Thursday.
“The deal will unleash a regional nuclear arms race, in which states like Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other Sunni states will seek to either develop or acquire nuclear weapons to mitigate the Iranian threat,” the letter said, INN reported.
Defense News reported that funding for the KC-46A aircraft will come from the $3.3 billion in security assistance that Israel received as part of a foreign military financing agreement with the United States, according to the Defense News web site. The current contract gives Israel the ability to purchase four more of the planes after the initial four.
“As part of the signed contract, Boeing will also provide support services for the refuelers, maintenance and repairs, logistics and other assistance to adapt the planes to Israel’s needs, in a way that will ensure full readiness to carry out its missions for the Israeli Air Force,” Boeing said in its statement, according to the Defense News report.
The KC-46As will be equipped “with the most advanced system in the world for aerial refueling alongside advanced defense systems and more,” Boeing said.
The OvertDefense.com web site reported that the KC-46 program has experienced a number of issues and delays throughout development for the US Air Force. The first flight for the KC-46 program was in December 2014, and issues began to appear as soon as July 2015, with the aircraft’s fuel systems not meeting Air Force specifications. The new design and manufacturing work required to solve these issues necessitated a $835 million pretax charge. The KC-46 program was, at that time, still expected to begin combat testing in 2017, according to the report.
The KC-46 program was issued an interim capability release in October 2021, allowing the USAF to utilize the KC-46s for limited refueling operations, as was reported by the OvertDefense.com web site. The KC-46 performed its first transatlantic flight later that month, delivering F-16 fighters from Naval Station Rota in Spain to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.
OvertDefense.com also reported that the Operational Test and Evaluation Directorate, the Department of Defense group that evaluates weapon systems for the DoD, says that without a fully-operational Remote Vision System, it cannot declare that the KC-46 has met initial operating capability. The contract issued Wednesday states that Boeing would be providing Remote Vision System 2.0 and Air Refueling Operator Station 2.0 mission equipment, both of which are recent updates attempting to solve problems with the initial KC-46 mission systems.
The Israeli KC-46 program is expected to receive the first two airframes in 2024, with the aircraft entering into service the next year, as was reported by OvertDefense.com. It remains to be seen whether the constant delays and issues in the USAF program will affect the Israeli program. The Israeli KC-46s are expected to be equipped with Israeli-specific mission systems, like the F-35I and other aircraft acquired by Israel.
