PRESS RELEASE: JINSA Celebrates Delivery of KC-46A Refueling Tankers to Israel, Strengthening U.S.-Israel Mutual Defense

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 28, 2026
Contact: Blake Johnson
bjohnson@jinsa.org

JINSA Celebrates KC-46A Refueling Tanker Delivery, Strengthening U.S.-Israel Mutual Defense

Washington, DC – Israel took delivery of its first of six KC-46A aerial refueling tankers yesterday in an official ceremony at Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel.

The Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA) celebrates this momentous occasion, which enables Israel to better project power and extend its aircrafts’ range. In 2018, JINSA, alone among organizations, began pressing for the United States to sell Israel these advanced aerial refueling tankers. And then, after the United States approved this sale in 2021, JINSA published detailed proposals to expedite the initial transfer of KC-46s to Israel, train Israeli Air Force pilots on the new aircraft, and deploy U.S. KC-46s to Israel before the Israeli aircraft arrived, which the United States did shortly before Operation Epic Fury.

By upgrading the Israel Air Force’s obsolescing tanker fleet and expanding the reach and capacity of its combat aircraft, the KC-46 will act as a force-multiplier for Israel’s ability to counter shared threats from Iran and its proxies. It also will reduce the burdens and risks facing American forces in the region, after the U.S. Air Force helped fill gaps in Israel’s aerial refueling capacity during the recent war with Iran.

Furthermore, Israel’s use of the most advanced U.S.-made aerial refueling tankers will deepen the interoperability of U.S. and Israeli forces that proved so effective in Operations Epic Fury and Roaring Lion.

JINSA wants to thank President Donald Trump, former President Joe Biden, Congress, and the Pentagon for helping ensure Israel can utilize the latest-generation U.S. capabilities for the mutual defense of our two countries.

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Jewish Institute for National Security of America
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www.jinsa.org