Key takeaways:

• Contract value: USD 2.47 billion (30,150 crore 99 lakh 36 thousand)
• Total KC-46s on order: 183 aircraft
• Boeing's losses on programme: Over USD 7 billion (85,448 crore 16 lakh)
• Planned fleet size: 263 tankers by mid-2030s
• Foreign sales: Only 10 aircraft (6 Japan, 4 Israel)
• Deliveries completed: 98 aircraft
• Production halt: March-May 2025 due to wing cracks
• RVS 2.0 delay: 4 years behind original schedule
• Contract completion: 2029

Boeing secured USD 2.47 billion (B) contract from United States (US) Air Force on 25 November for 15 additional KC-46 Pegasus tanker aircraft, bringing total orders to 183 planes for domestic and international customers.

Contract, designated as Lot 12, is scheduled for completion by 2029. US Air Force originally planned to purchase 179 KC-46s under the KC-X programme but later increased the target to 188 aircraft. Service now plans to acquire 75 more tankers through a Tanker Production Extension programme, pushing total fleet size to approximately 263 aircraft by mid-2030s.

Jake Kwasnik, Boeing's KC-46 programme manager, said getting the contract ‘helps ensure production stability, including our long-lead supply chain’. However, the programme has proven costly for Boeing, which developed the aircraft under a fixed-price deal. Company has absorbed over USD 7 billion in losses after underbidding the project, expecting foreign sales to cover costs. Only 10 jets sold overseas so far, six to Japan and four to Israel.

US Air Force has received 98 KC-46s to date. Deliveries stopped from March to May this year due to wing cracks, though officials concluded the issue posed no flight safety risk.

Remote Viewing System, used by boom operators to conduct mid-air refueling through 3D cameras, continues facing delays. Upgraded RVS 2.0 now expected by summer 2027, four years behind original schedule.

Former Air Force Chief General David Allvin told House Appropriations Committee that other technical problems, including stiff refueling boom and environmental control glitches, will be resolved faster.

Source: Air & Space Forces.