WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB, Ohio – U.S. Air Force air-to-air refueling experts ask Boeing Co. to build two new KC-46A Pegasus military air-to-air refueling and strategic military transport aircraft for Japan as part of an order for 398.2 million dollars announced on Tuesday.
Officials from the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, are directing the Boeing Defense, Space & Security Segment in Tukwila, Washington to build the KC-46A aircraft for the Japanese army.
The KC-46A aircraft is based on the Boeing 767-200 jumbo jet. The Multirole Aerial Refueler can refuel all US, Allied and Coalition military aircraft compatible with international aerial refueling procedures. In addition to refueling other aircraft in flight, the KC-46A can also transport passengers, cargo, and medical patients.
The KC-46A aircraft can detect, avoid, defeat and survive threats by employing multiple layers of electronic protection that allow it to operate safely in medium-threat environments, Boeing officials say.
Related: Boeing team to supply 15 KC-46 aerial tanker aircraft, avionics, auxiliary power and integrated displays
Honeywell Aerospace, Northrop Grumman Corp. and Raytheon Technologies Corp. are among the companies supplying avionics subsystems and components for the KC-46A.
Honeywell Aerospace in Coon Rapids, Minnesota provides the air data inertial navigation system for the KC-46A, while the company’s Phoenix facility provides the auxiliary power unit. Honeywell Aerospace’s facility in Tucson, Arizona provides the KC-46A’s cabin pressure control system, while the company’s facility in Urbana, Ohio provides the lighting system of the tanker.
The Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems segment in Rolling Meadows, Illinois provides the KC-46A Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) segment, while the Raytheon Intelligence & Space segment in El Segundo, California provides the receiver digital radar warning and the tanker’s digital anti. – Jam Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver.
The Raytheon Collins Aerospace segment in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, provides the KC-46A integrated display system with 15.1-inch-diagonal liquid crystal displays, based on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner avionics suite.
Related: Fourteen Avionics Suppliers to Provide Aviation Parts Support for KC-46 Aerial Refueler Under $1.9 Billion Deal
Collins Aerospace also provides the KC-46A Tactical Situational Awareness System, 3-D Remote Vision System and 2-D Technology for the Boom Operator, Communication, Navigation, Surveillance ( CNI), networking and flight control systems.
DRS Technologies Inc. partnership Laurel Technologies in Johnstown, Pennsylvania provides the KC-46A Air Refueling Operator Station (AROS). Eaton Aerospace’s facility in Grand Rapids, Michigan provides the tanker’s electromechanical actuation and cargo door systems.
Woodward Inc. in Skokie, Illinois, provides the sensor system, control unit, and telescopic and flight control joysticks for the KC-46A’s in-flight refueling boom.
GE Aviation Systems facilities in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Clearwater, Florida provide avionics for the KC-46A Mission Control System, which provides integrated communications management to support traffic management data link aerial, and allows the aircraft to operate with navigational precision not currently available to the tanker fleet.
Related: Boeing to build two KC-46 tanker planes, avionics and electronic protection for the Japanese military
GE Aviation also provides the KC-46A Flight Management System (FMS), which helps the aircraft follow relatively short flight paths and idle descents to reduce fuel consumption, while reducing emissions and noise. of the motor.
Japan will form a new squadron for its KC-46As at Miho Air Base to operate with the country’s existing tanker fleet of four KC-767 tankers and two KC-130H tankers. The new tankers will help refuel Japan’s fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35A and F-35B strike fighters, Mitsubishi F-15 and F-2 jet fighters and Bell-Boeing MV-22 tiltrotor aircraft Osprey.
On this order, Boeing will perform the work in Everett, Washington, and is expected to be completed by June 2025. For more information, contact Boeing Defense, Space & Security online at www.boeing.com/defense/ kc-46a-pegasus-tanker, or the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at www.aflcmc.af.mil.
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