The US Air Force exercised the option for the second Boeing KC-46 tanker for the Japanese Air-Defense Force through the Foreign Military Sale process (FMS).
Boeing won the initial FMS contract for Japan's first KC-46 aircraft and logistics support services in December 2017, following the Japanese Defense Ministry's KC-X aerial refueling tender. "Japan's new tankers will not only strengthen interoperability with the US Air Force, but will also play an important role in the security partnership between our two countries," commented Col. John Newberry, US Air Force KC- 46 System Program Manager.
"Japan is our first international partner and we look forward to delivering this high-performance multi-role tanker to JASDF," said John Suding, Boeing Global Sales and Marketing Asia regional executive. “The KC-46 will be easier to maintain than previous tankers due to increased reliability and reduced life-cycle costs. It will be a valuable addition to the Japanese air fleet for decades to come ”.
The KC-46 is a multi-purpose tanker designed to supply all Allied and military coalition aircraft compatible with international air refueling procedures and capable of transporting passengers, goods and patients.
Boeing began developing the KC-46A Pegasus tanker for the US Air Force in 2011 and is assembling the 767-derived aircraft at its Everett, Washington facility.
The first flight of the fully equipped KC-46 tanker was carried out in September 2015. Six test aircraft have now completed more than 3.700 flight hours and conducted refueling flights with F-15E, F-16, F / A-18, AV-8B, C-17, A-10, B-52, KC- 10, KC-135 and KC-46, providing more than four million pounds of fuel.
