KC-46 tanker test puts fuel boom operator, not copilot, in cockpit

DefenseNews: The Air Force is moving forward with experiments to test whether a two-person crew could safely fly a KC-46 Pegasus tanker in an emergency. A solo pilot and a fuel boom operator with the 22nd Air Refueling Wing at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, on Oct. 25 took to the skies for two KC-46 sorties on a military test range, the service said Oct. 28. Flying tankers without copilots is one idea Air Mobility Command is trying out as it considers the tactics it may need in a possible military conflict with China. The Air Force has stre…