Why Was this Secret US Plane Crisscrossing Over Missouri Today?

Something unusual has been flying over Missouri today. It's probably something normal to military people, but not to regular folks like me. My question is why did it keep crisscrossing over Missouri? Let's explore the possibilities.

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You can blame my wondering about this plane on the fact that I used to read a lot of Tom Clancy novels. If you're familiar with Tom's many military stories, there are many dire things (or potentially dire) that happen just beyond the public's watchful eyes.

My wife sent this graphic from Flight Aware today showing an unusual plane which she saw overhead.

I looked it up and this is a KC-46A Pegasus which is a newly-redesigned US Air Force refueling tanker. If you've watched Top Gun, this is the plane that Maverick would connect to for refueling in the middle of a mission.

Here's where my wondering out loud begins. With so many nearby Air Force bases like Whiteman, why the need for one of these huge tankers over Missouri today? I have no clue, but inquiring minds want to know.

The only thing I know for sure is this plane is an interesting bad boy.

The official Air Force page says the KC-46A Pegasus "will provide aerial refueling support to Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and partner-nation receivers". So who else is flying over Missouri today I wonder?

Stay tuned. This is probably just a routine flight thing happening...unless one of my favorite Tom Clancy thrillers is about to happen in real life.