Boeing Completes KC-46 Tanker Electromagnetic Testing

Boeing along with US Air Force and Naval Air Systems Command representatives, recently completed KC-46 tanker electromagnetic testing.

This testing evaluates the aircraft’s ability to safely operate through electromagnetic fields produced by radars, radio towers and other systems under mission conditions, the company said in a statement Thursday.

“The KC-46 tanker is protected by various hardening and shielding technologies designed into the aircraft to negate any effects on the aircraft,” said Mike Gibbons, Boeing KC-46 vice president and program manager. “This successful effort retires one of the key risks on the program.”

During tests on the EMP pad at Patuxent River, the program’s second low-rate initial production KC-46 received pulses from a large coil/transformer situated above the aircraft. The outdoor simulation was designed to test and evaluate the KC-46’s EMP protection while in flight.

The KC-46A is a multirole tanker that is designed to refuel all allied and coalition military aircraft compatible with international aerial refueling procedures and can carry passengers, cargo and patients.