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.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
