The US State Department has approved the sale of eight Boeing KC-46A Pegasus in-flight refueling tankers to Israel for an estimated $2.4 billion.
Despite the continuing delays due to engineering and manufacturing problems, primarily associated with the refueling boom camera, or Remote Vision System, that distorts the images that boom operators see. The faulty camera system has caused several collisions during refueling operations.
A statement from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency explained, “The proposed sale further supports the foreign policy and national security of the United States by allowing Israel to provide a redundant capability to US assets within the region, potentially freeing US assets for use elsewhere during times of war,”
The system is expected to be fixed by 2022 or 2023. The current tankers can still fulfill passenger and cargo transport duties but will not be cleared for its intended refueling until the system is fixed.