Boeing has been awarded a $16.8 million contract to update the capabilities its KC-46A tanker for the US Air Force (USAF).
Announced on 22 July, the deal will deliver “software and data enhancements that will further advance the mission readiness and performance envelope” of the 767-based type, the airframer says.
Part of the work will upgrade the aircraft’s onboard performance tool software to enable “expedited mission launch, with specific improvements for efficient cargo loading and take-off and landing data management for flight planning”.
“With these enhancements, aircrews will be able to complete weight and balance calculations more efficiently and load the aircraft and start missions quickly,” Boeing says.
“The US Air Force and allies are performing crucial global missions with the growing KC-46A tanker fleet and finding ways to extract more capability from the platform,” says Lynn Fox, Boeing’s KC-46 vice-president and programme manager.
Boeing, which has so far delivered 84 KC-46As to the USAF and four to the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, produces 15 of the 767-based type per year for its main customer, and up to two more for the international market.
“We are seeing good, strong international demand for the KC-46,” says Dan Gillian, Boeing Defense Space & Security’s vice-president and general manager, mobility, surveillance and bombers.
“I’m working to identify opportunities to increase my production capacity towards the end of this decade,” he told FlightGlobal at the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire on 20 July.
