Overview
- Israel’s first KC-46, named Gideon, completed its maiden flight in the United States on Monday and is slated to arrive in about a month.
- The jet is the first of six on order, following a 2020 U.S. sale approval and a 2022 Boeing contract for four aircraft that Israel expanded by two more last year.
- The KC-46 is a 767-based refueling and transport plane that can pass fuel by boom or hose-and-drogue and carry cargo or troops, which helps keep fighters on long missions that strained Israel’s older fleet in 2025.
- Israel says each tanker will receive local systems tailored to IAF missions, and analysts say added command-and-control and beyond-line-of-sight communications are plausible but not confirmed.
- The new fleet will replace decades-old 707 Re’em tankers, and Israel expects a more mature platform after U.S. fixes to the boom camera Remote Vision System that once delayed KC-46 operations.