On 10 September, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has announced that Boeing has been awarded a $2,8  billion contract for the fourth lot of KC-46 tankers, raising the total to 52 aircraft on order.

According to the DoD’s statement, the Boeing has received a $2,858,701,741 modification (P00141) to contract FA8625-11-C-6600 for lot 4 production KC-46 aircraft, initial spares, and support equipment.

The contract modification provides for the exercise of an option for an additional quantity of 18 KC-46 aircraft, data, two spare engines, five wing refueling pod kits, initial spares, and support equipment being produced under the basic contract.

Work will be performed in Seattle, Washington, and is expected to be completed by Jan 2022.

The KC-46A Pegasus is a widebody, multirole tanker that can refuel all U.S., allied and coalition military aircraft compatible with international aerial refueling procedures.

Boeing designed the KC-46 to carry passengers, cargo and patients. The aircraft can detect, avoid, defeat and survive threats using multiple layers of protection, which will enable it to operate safely in medium-threat environments.

Also, on 5 September, Boeing has announced that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted KC-46 tanker program a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC), verifying that its refueling and mission avionics systems meet FAA requirements. 

According to the company’s announcement, to receive its STC, Boeing’s team completed a series of lab, ground and flight tests, which commenced in 2015. As part of the required flight testing, the team validated the KC-46’s boom and drogue aerial refueling systems met FAA certification criteria.

Overall, Boeing plans to build 179 KC-46 aircraft for the Air Force.