Boeing has been awarded a $16.8 million contract by the U.S. Air Force for software and data enhancements for the KC-46A tanker aircraft, which is expected to improve the aircraft’s mission readiness and performance in a variety of scenarios.
The KC-46A was originally built by Boeing as a modified version of its 767 passenger jet. The Air Force, which replaced its aging Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers in 2019, plans to have 197 KC-46As in service by 2027.
The new software upgrade will tune on-board performance tools and streamline aircraft loading, takeoff and landing data management, helping tankers get ready to launch missions faster, improving the efficiency of the platform both on a per-mission basis and across procurement.
“The U.S. Air Force and allied nations perform important global missions with our growing KC-46A tanker fleet and are exploring ways to extract more capability from this platform,” said Lynn Fox, Boeing’s KC-46 vice president and program manager. “Working together, we are integrating enhancements like this to bring additional capability to the battlefield as quickly as possible to meet the evolving needs of our missions.”
The upgrade follows a 2023 Block 1 contract that will enhance the KC-46A’s communications, data connectivity and situational awareness in contested environments.
Compared to the KC-135, the KC-46A can carry three times as many cargo pallets, up to twice as many passengers and more than 30 percent more aeromedical evacuation patients. The latest software upgrade is designed to make cargo loading and delivery a more streamlined, time-efficient process.
The KC-46A’s largest customer is the U.S. Air Force, but Boeing has also sold the aircraft, which specializes in the critical tanker role, to the Israeli Air Force and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.
Defense Insight Related Programs
KC-46A (USA)
KC-46A (Israel)
