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Boeing KC-46

March 20, 2011 Kansas Aviation Legacy 0

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Boeing KC-46 is a military aerial refueling and strategic transport aircraft developed from the Boeing 767. In February 2011, the tanker was selected by United States Air Force as the winner in the KC-X tanker competition to replace older KC-135s.

Background

The U.S. Air Force (USAF) ran a procurement program to replace around 100 of its oldest KC-135E Stratotankers, and selected Boeing’s KC-767. The Boeing tanker received the KC-767A designation from the DoD in 2002 and appearing in the 2004 edition of DoD Model Designation report. The Air Force decided to lease 100 KC-767 tankers from Boeing.

Despite several nations leasing military aircraft, there was criticism. U.S. Senator John McCain and others criticized the draft leasing agreement as being wasteful and problematic. In response to the protests, the Air Force struck a compromise in November 2003, whereby it would purchase 80 KC-767 aircraft and lease 20 more.

Then in December 2003, the Pentagon announced the project was to be frozen while an investigation of allegations of corruption by one of its former procurement staffers.

USAF KC-X Program

In 2006 the USAF released a request for proposal (RFP) for a new tanker program, KC-X, to be selected by 2007. Boeing had also announced it may enter an even higher capability tanker based on the Boeing 777, named the KC-777 Strategic Tanker. Airbus partnered with Northrop Grumman to offer the Airbus A330 MRTT, the tanker version of the A330, which was being marketed to the USAF under the company name, KC-30.

In late January 2007 the USAF issued the KC-X Aerial Refueling Aircraft Request for Proposal. The RFP called for 179 (4 system development and demonstration and 175 production) tankers, in a contract worth an estimated US$40 billion. However, Northrop and EADS expressed their displeasure at how the RFP was structured and threatened to withdraw, leaving only Boeing to offer an aircraft.

On 12 February 2007, Boeing announced it was offering the KC-767 Advanced Tanker for the KC-X Tanker competition. Boeing stated that for KC-X’s requirements, the KC-767 was a better fit than the KC-777. On 11 April 2007, Boeing submitted its KC-767 tanker proposal to U.S. Air Force. The KC-767 Advanced Tanker offered for this KC-X round was based on the in-development 767-200LRF (Long Range Freighter), rather than the -200ER that Italian and Japanese KC-767 aircraft are based,differing by combining the -200ER fuselage, -300F wing, gear, cargo door and floor, -400ER digital flightdeck and flaps, uprated engines, and "sixth-generation" fly-by-wire boom.The KC-767 has manual flight controls with an unrestricted flight envelope.

Boeing submitted the final version of its proposal on 3 January 2008. On 29 February 2008, the DoD chose the Northrop Grumman/EADS KC-30, now officially designated the KC-45A, over the KC-767.Boeing submitted a protest to the United States Government Accountability Office on 11 March 2008 and began waging a public relations campaign in support of their protest. On 18 June, following a series of admissions by the Air Force on the flaws in the bidding process, the GAO upheld Boeing’s protest and recommended the contract be rebid. On 9 July 2008, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that the Air Force would reopen bidding on the tanker contract. Secretary Gates put the contract for the KC-45 into an "expedited recompetition" with Defense Undersecretary John Young in charge of the selection process instead of the Air Force. A draft of the revised RFP was provided to the contractors on 6 August 2008 for comments. By mid-August the revised RFP was to be finalized. However, on 10 September 2008, the U.S. Defense Department canceled the KC-X solicitation.

On 24 September 2009, the USAF began the first steps in the new round of bids, with a clearer set of criteria, including reducing the number of requirements from 800 to 373 in an attempt to simplify the process and allow a more objective decision to be made. On 4 March 2010, Boeing announced it will bid the KC-767 tanker for the new KC-X round. EADS announced in April 2010 it would submit a tanker bid without Northrop Grumman as a U.S. partner. Boeing submitted its KC-767 "NewGen Tanker" bid on 9 July 2010. The company submitted a revised bid on 10 February 2011.

On 24 February 2011, the Air Force announced the selection of Boeing’s KC-767. The aircraft will receive the designation KC-46A.[30][31] Boeing was also awarded a development contract for the tanker. The contract calls for Boeing to complete, and deliver 18 initial operational KC-46 tankers by 2017.Boeing’s "NewGen Tanker" is based on the 767-200 with an improved version of the KC-10 refueling boom, and cockpit displays from the 787.

Specifications

  • Specifications for KC-767 Advanced Tanker (767-200LRF based).
  • Data from KC-767A, KC-767 Advanced, Boeing 767-200ER specifications.

General characteristics

  • Crew: 3: 2 pilots, 1 boom operator
  • Capacity: 190 passengers, 19 463L pallets, or 19 medical patients
  • Length: 159 ft 2 in (48.5 m)
  • Wingspan: 156 ft 1 in (47.6 m)
  • Height: 52 ft (15.8 m)
  • Empty weight: 181,610 lb (82,377 kg)
  • Max takeoff weight: > 400,000 lb (181,000 kg)
  • Powerplant: 2× Pratt & Whitney PW4062[38] turbofan, 63,500 lbf (282 kN) each
  • Maximum Fuel Load: > 202,000 lb (91,600 kg)

Performance

  • Maximum speed: Mach 0.86 (570 mph, 915 km/h)
  • Cruise speed: Mach 0.80 (530 mph, 851 km/h)
  • Range: 6,385 nmi (12,200 km)
  • Service ceiling: 40,100 ft (12,200 m)

Related development

  • Boeing KC-767
  • Boeing 767
  • Boeing E-767
  • Northrop Grumman E-10 MC2A

Comparable aircraft

  • EADS/Northrop Grumman KC-45
  • Airbus A310 MRTT
  • Airbus A330 MRTT
  • KC-135 Stratotanker
  • KC-10 Extender

References

  1. "Boeing Given Nod on Tanker Lease". Military-Aerospace Technology Magazine; volume: 1, issue: 2, 1 May 2002. (archive link).
  2. DoD 4120.15L, Model Designation of Military Aerospace Vehicles. US DoD, 12 May 2004.
  3. Tirpak, John A. "100 Tankers". Air Force magazine, August 2003.
  4. "Tanker Twilight Zone". Air Force magazine, February 2004, Vol. 87, No. 2.
  5. Pope, Charles. "Pentagon finalizes Boeing tanker deal". Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 7 November 2003.
  6. Cahlink, George, "Ex-Pentagon procurement executive gets jail time". Government Executive, October 1, 2004.
  7. Northrop Grumman KC-30 marketing web site
  8. Air Force Posts KC-X Request for Proposals. USAF, 2007-01-30.
  9. Evens, Ben and Daly, Matthew (AP), "Northrop-EADS threatens to withdraw bid for US Air Force contract leaving only Boeing". Aerotech News and Review, 2 February 2007.
  10. Borak, D. "Boeing Unveils Air Force Tanker in $40 Billion Contract Competition". Associated Press. 12 February 2007.
  11. "Why the 767?". Air Force magazine, 13 February 2007.
  12. "Boeing Submits KC-767 Advanced Tanker Proposal to U.S. Air Force". Boeing, 11 April 2007.
  13. "Boeing Offers KC-767 Advanced Tanker to U.S. Air Force". Boeing, 12 February 2007.
  14. "Size matters in US Air Force KC-X contest". Flight International, 21 January 2008.
  15. "Boeing to Offer NewGen Tanker to US Air Force". finchannel.com, 5 March 2010.
  16. "Boeing Submits Final KC-767 Advanced Tanker Proposal to U.S. Air Force", Boeing, 3 January 2008.
  17. Butler, Amy, Fulghum, Davis A and Wall, Robert. "Northrop/EADS Clinches U.S. Refueler Deal". Aviation Week, 29 February 2008.
  18. "GAO backs Boeing tanker protest". King 5 News. 18 June 2008. http://www.king5.com/topstories/stories/NW_061808BUB_boeing_gao_air_tanker_contract_JM.161e241b.html. Retrieved 18 June 2008. [dead link]
  19. "Air Force to Reopen Bidding on Tanker Contract". New York Times, 10 July 2008.
  20. Kruzel, John J. "Pentagon Reopens Bidding on Tanker Contract". US DoD, 9 July 2008.
  21. "Pentagon Issues New Tanker Bid Parameters". Aviation Week, 6 August 2008.
  22. "DoD Announces Termination of KC-X Tanker Solicitation". US DoD, 10 September 2008.
  23. Air Force Resumes Tanker Contest
  24. "Boeing to Offer NewGen Tanker to US Air Force". Boeing, 4 March 2010.
  25. "EADS Re-Enters Tanker Bidding". Wall Street Journal, 21 April 2010.
  26. Butler, Amy. "Northrop Grumman Officially Out of KC-X". Aviation Week, 9 March 2010.
  27. Trimble, Stephen. "USAF receives three proposals for KC-X, but Antonov team admits concerns". Flight International, 9 July 2010.
  28. "Boeing Submits NewGen Tanker Proposal to US Air Force". Boeing, 9 July 2010.
  29. Gates, Dominic. "Boeing, EADS Submit Final Bids For Air Force Tanker Contract". Seattle Times, 11 February 2011.
  30. "USAF selects Boeing for KC-X contract"
  31. "Boeing Wins $35B Air Force Tanker Deal". Bloomberg, 24 February 2011.
  32. "Boeing Receives US Air Force Contract to Build Next-Generation Refueling Tanker". Boeing, 24 February 2011.
  33. Warwick, Graham. "Boeing Wins Restaged U.S. Air Force KC-X Tanker". Aviation Week, 25 February 2011.
  34. Trimble, Stephen. "Boeing source reveals specifications for KC-767 NewGen Tanker". Flight International, 29 September 2010.
  35. KC-767 International Tanker backgrounder. Boeing, June 2010.
  36. KC-767 Advanced Tanker product card. Boeing. (archive copy)
  37. 767-200ER specifications. Boeing.
  38. "Pratt & Whitney Selected To Supply Engines For KC-767", 2007-03-13.

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