It is 2020 so my question is are allied forces that have F-35s and depend on MRTTs confident they can do the job? Clearly the KC-46, at the moment, can’t. Then there are the QA problems which are a separate issue. Lastly, the “Pacific pivot“, IMO, made the MRTT a better choice for this reason due to capacity and range.
RAAF has been using them with F-35 for a couple of years now with no issues reported to my knowledge. There were a few teething problems at first (pre-F35) - hardly surprising for the launch customer. They flew operationally over Iraq from October 2014 supporting coalition air forces including the USAF
oldsig