The Northrop Grumman-EADS North America team may change its plan to offer the Air Force a modified Airbus A330-200 for the KC-X tanker should it win the competition. Instead, Flight International reports that the team might substitute the freighter version, the A330-200F now that it has a “solid customer base” and is more fully developed, meaning the price would come down. The team’s proposal called for adding a cargo door and localized strengthening to the basic passenger A330-200, but the F model might interest USAF more since it starts out as a freighter.
Boeing received a $2.47 billion Air Force contract Nov. 25 for 15 more KC-46s, bringing to 183 the number of Pegasus tankers on contract to all customers, foreign and domestic. The new contract—for Lot 12 of the initially planned KC-46 buy—is to be completed by 2029.
