{"id":258050,"date":"2026-08-20T17:52:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T17:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/258050\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T17:52:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T17:52:13","slug":"israel-air-force-receives-second-boeing-kc-46-gidon-refueling-tanker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/258050\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel Air Force receives second Boeing KC-46 Gidon refueling tanker"},"content":{"rendered":"

A second Gidon tanker touched down at Nevatim Airbase<\/a> on Thursday, marking a significant milestone for the IDF\u2019s aerial refueling and cargo capabilities.<\/p>\n

The Gidon, converted from a Boeing KC-46<\/a> airframe through a joint program between the US Air Force and the IAF, is described by the officer who oversees its operation as the most advanced aerial refueling aircraft in the world.<\/p>\n

It first entered IAF<\/a> service earlier this year, becoming the flagship of a new refueling squadron that will only continue to grow. Israel has ordered six of the aircraft to date, with the possibility of expanding the fleet further down the line.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst and foremost, it is a tanker aircraft<\/a>, and its capabilities are extensive and very important for the State of Israel,\u201d an IAF source told The Jerusalem Post, explaining that, beyond refueling, the aircraft can carry cargo and passengers simultaneously, evacuate wounded personnel, and may take on additional roles the Air Force and Defense Ministry develop for it over time.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is to provide the State of Israel with the strongest capability we possibly can. And, of course, regional cooperation and cooperation with our American partners are strategic and critical for the country,\u201d the source said.<\/p>\n

\"Israel'sIsrael’s new KC-46 refueling aircraft, named ”Gideon,” on its maiden flight, May 4, 2026. (credit: BOEING)<\/p>\n

The Gidon refuels other aircraft primarily through an advanced boom system, which will serve as the backbone of the IAF\u2019s refueling missions going forward. The aircraft is also equipped with a secondary drogue-based refueling system, which Israeli aircraft are not built to use, but it could eventually support aerial refueling for other air forces as part of regional cooperation efforts.<\/p>\n

The source explained that what specifically sets the Gidon apart from the aircraft it is replacing is its raw capacity paired with precision.<\/p>\n

Gidon carries ‘significantly more’ fuel, cargo, passengers than predecessor, IAF source says<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can carry significantly more fuel, significantly more cargo, and significantly more passengers,\u201d he said, \u201cand it can do all of that with greater precision, in more complex environments, and on a larger scale.\u201d<\/p>\n

The aircraft can carry up to 18 pallets of cargo and can conduct refueling and cargo missions at the same time.<\/p>\n

The Gidon also carries civilian and military systems that the officer described as among the most advanced of their kind anywhere in the world. The officer said they feature a mix of flight-safety and communications technology found on top-tier commercial aircraft, alongside classified military systems developed by the US Air Force.<\/p>\n

Its core mission, the source explained, is extending the reach of Israeli combat aircraft on long-range operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is to get the Air Force as far as it needs to go, to all the points it needs to reach, and to bring all of its capabilities across the Middle East, or even farther if necessary,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Source: New tanker aircraft can also serve international humanitarian aid delivery missions<\/p>\n

But the aircraft\u2019s reach isn\u2019t limited to combat missions. As the source explained, the Gidon can also be used to deliver aid across the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis aircraft can bring the State of Israel and all of its capabilities to help populations and countries \u2013 whether Jewish communities or other countries \u2013 anywhere in the world,\u201d he said, noting that the Home Front Command and other state agencies could now reach nearly any destination on a direct flight to deliver or retrieve equipment.<\/p>\n

The Gidon program has been closely watched since the first aircraft arrived in Israel earlier this year as part of a deal funded through US Foreign Military Financing, replacing the IAF\u2019s fleet of Boeing 707 \u201cRe\u2019em\u201d tankers, which have been in service for roughly six decades.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A second Gidon tanker touched down at Nevatim Airbase on Thursday, marking a significant milestone for the IDF\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":258051,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[33],"tags":[3763,2533,3593,2090,37,1045,798],"class_list":["post-258050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-aircraft","tag-boeing","tag-fuel","tag-iaf","tag-israel","tag-israeli-air-force","tag-tanker"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/117129114243958511","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258050\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}