Boeing Awarded $5.7B Contract to Prepare KC-46 Refueling Tanker for Combat Capability
Dan Arkin
| 01/05/2019
Credit: Boeing
Boeing has been awarded a $5.7 billion post-production contract for combat capability for the US Air Force’s KC-46 Pegasus refueling tanker aircraft, the US Department of Defense announced in a release.
The USAF selected the KC-46 in 2011 to replace the previous refueling tanker, the KC-135 Stratotanker. The initial order was for 18 KC-46 tankers to be delivered by 2017, and the Air Force intends to order a total of 179 new tankers over the life of the program.
Due to program delays, the first aircraft was delivered on January 2019. Deliveries have since halted twice after foreign object debris was found in some closed compartments of the aircraft.
Work on the new contract will be performed at Boeing's plant in Seattle and is expected to be complete by April 28, 2029.
The KC-46 Pegasus is one of the contenders to replace the aging Boeing 707 Re’em as the new refueling tanker of the Israeli Air Force.
Credit: Boeing
Boeing has been awarded a $5.7 billion post-production contract for combat capability for the US Air Force’s KC-46 Pegasus refueling tanker aircraft, the US Department of Defense announced in a release.
The USAF selected the KC-46 in 2011 to replace the previous refueling tanker, the KC-135 Stratotanker. The initial order was for 18 KC-46 tankers to be delivered by 2017, and the Air Force intends to order a total of 179 new tankers over the life of the program.
Due to program delays, the first aircraft was delivered on January 2019. Deliveries have since halted twice after foreign object debris was found in some closed compartments of the aircraft.
Work on the new contract will be performed at Boeing's plant in Seattle and is expected to be complete by April 28, 2029.
The KC-46 Pegasus is one of the contenders to replace the aging Boeing 707 Re’em as the new refueling tanker of the Israeli Air Force.
