Boeing has signed an agreement with Sargent Fletcher, a Cobham company, to provide the body fuel tank system for the KC-767 Advanced Tanker (AT).
The agreement provides the terms under which Sargent Fletcher may be awarded subcontracts for the fuel tank system if the KC-767AT is selected in the US Air Force's KC-X tanker competition.
Boeing formally submitted its KC-X proposal to the US Air Force on April 10. The platform, the KC-767 Advanced Tanker, is designed for aerial refuelling of other aircraft, but also is able to move cargo, passengers, patients and medical crewmembers.
Other innovations include an advanced fly-by-wire boom, new wing refuelling pods, a centreline hose drum refuelling unit, an advanced commercial digital flight deck and a third-generation remote vision refuelling system.
The Boeing Global Tanker Team producing the KC-767 Advanced Tanker includes Delta TechOps, Rockwell Collins, Vought Aircraft Industries, Pratt & Whitney, Smiths Aerospace, Honeywell and Spirit AeroSystems.
Boeing has produced nearly 2,000 tankers in its history and currently is building four KC-767 tankers each for Italy and Japan. The company claims the KC-767, if selected by the air force, could save US taxpayers nearly $10bn in fuel costs compared to its nearest competitor.
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