Boeing has released the list of its major suppliers for the KC-46A tankers that it will supply to the Air Force to replace the service’s oldest KC-135s. “We’re fortunate to have a strong defense industry team of domain experts,” said Maureen Dougherty, Boeing’s KC-46 program manager. The KC-46A is based on Boeing’s 767-200ER commercial aircraft; two Pratt & Whitney PW4062 engines will power it. Among the major suppliers and the components they will provide are: Cobham: wing aerial refueling pods; DRS Laurel Technologies: Aerial Refueling Operator Station; Goodrich: landing gear; Honeywell: auxiliary power unit; Northrop Grumman: Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures system; Raytheon: digital radar warning receiver; Rockwell Collins: integrated display system; Spirit: forward fuselage section; Triumph Group: aft body section; and Woodward: aerial refueling boom elements. Boeing will assemble the KC-46 at its existing facilities in Everett, Wash., and Wichita, Kan. (For more on the KC-46A, read The Tanker Answer from Air Force Magazine’s June issue.)
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.