Boeing KC-46A Simulator Demonstration Trailer hits McConnell

Master Sgt. Luis Rodriguez-Asad, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center integrated product team superintendent, uses the KC-46A boom operator demonstration Nov. 14, 2013, at McConnell Air Force Base, Kan. The demonstration provided Airmen with a glimpse of what refueling in the tanker may be like. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Colby L. Hardin)

Boeing KC-46A Simulator Demonstration Trailer hits McConnell

Airmen from McConnell Air Force Base participate in a flying demonstration of a KC-46A aircraft Nov. 14, 2013, at McConnell Air Force Base, Kan. This demonstration provided the experience of flying and landing from the cockpit of a KC-46A aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Colby L. Hardin)

Boeing KC-46A Simulator Demonstration Trailer hits McConnell

Published Nov. 18, 2013
By Airman 1st Class Colby L. Hardin
22nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. -- McConnell AFB hosted the Boeing KC-46A Simulator Demonstration Trailer Nov. 14 2013.

The trailer featured a simulation of the aircraft's cockpit and the new boom operator area.

"The purpose of the simulator was to show the entire wing what the future of McConnell is going to look like," said Col. Jamie Dermer, 22nd Air Refueling Wing vice commander. "The KC-46A is bringing us into the next generation and it's a fantastic opportunity for us to be a part of the future."

Boeing is planning to produce 179 KC-46As that will be assigned to ten different bases beginning in 2016 and ending in 2028.

McConnell AFB was selected as the preferred alternative for the first active duty led KC-46A main operating base.

"I think this is going to be every bit as successful as what the KC-135 has ever been," said Senior Master Sgt. Dan Halverstadt, KC-46A Systems Program Office production manager. "We're going to be able to go places that we've never been able to go before with a tanker."