Israel receives second of six ordered KC-46 refueling aircraft

A second Boeing KC-46 “Gideon” aerial refueling aircraft landed at Nevatim Airbase and joined the Israeli Air Force’s 46 Squadron, the service said Friday.

The aircraft is the second of six KC-46 tankers Israel’s Ministry of Defense has purchased through the Pentagon’s Foreign Military Sales process. It joins the “Gideon” Squadron, formally Squadron 46, which was activated earlier this year to receive the type. The Israeli Air Force said the addition strengthens its capabilities for what it described as multi-front warfare and operations at long range.

The KC-46 is a militarized derivative of the Boeing 767 airframe. It refuels other aircraft in flight and extends their range and time aloft, while also serving as a cargo and troop transport. The Israeli Air Force said the tanker adds both refueling capacity and what it called advanced, multi-role transport capability.

Israel received its first Gideon on May 27, 2026, at Nevatim, less than a month after the aircraft’s first U.S. test flight on May 4. That delivery followed a 2020 Foreign Military Sale authorization valued at $2.4 billion for up to eight KC-46s and a 2022 Boeing contract worth $930 million covering the first four aircraft. Israel’s Ministry of Defense approved the KC-46 purchase in 2021.

Squadron 46 was stood up days before the first aircraft’s arrival to receive the new fleet. The Israeli Air Force has said it will continue flying its older refueling aircraft alongside the KC-46s during the transition. Those aircraft, known in Israeli service as the “Re’em,” are converted Boeing 707s that entered service in 1973. Squadron 120, the “Desert Giants,” operates the Re’em fleet from the same base.

The tanker fleet has drawn attention in Israel over its age. Cirium, an aviation data firm, has put the average age of Israel’s KC-707 fleet at roughly 50 years. Israel also operates seven Lockheed Martin KC-130H tankers with a similar average age, according to the same data.

Israel’s tanker capacity became a point of discussion following the February and March 2026 air campaign against Iran, when Israeli fighters flew missions roughly 2,000 km (1,200 miles) from Israeli territory, distances beyond the normal operating range of Israeli fighter aircraft without aerial refueling. During that period, Israel relied in part on U.S. Air Force tankers to extend the range of its strike aircraft.

The KC-46 can carry about 90.7 tons of fuel, roughly 15 percent more than Israel’s existing refueling aircraft, according to figures the Israeli Air Force has released. The aircraft is built with Israeli-specific systems installed after delivery, a standard practice for major platforms Israel buys from U.S. suppliers, including the F-35I fighter.

Boeing has faced production and quality-control setbacks on the KC-46 program dating back several years, issues that have drawn scrutiny from the U.S. Air Force, the type’s primary operator with 98 aircraft in service. Japan is the only other export customer to have received the KC-46 to date; Italy previously planned to acquire the type to replace its KC-767 fleet but has since paused that procurement.