Boeing is hot to unveil its plan for a new tanker replacement aircraft, particularly since Northrop Grumman has announced its offering—an Airbus A330 knockoff. (DR, 09/08/05) Speaking at the AFA conference Tuesday, Boeing’s George Muellner said the Global Tanker Team currently at work on aerial tankers for Italy and Japan has agreed to partner to develop a new tanker. The GTT comprises Boeing, Smiths Aerospace, Rockwell Collins, Vought Aircraft, Aeronavali (Italy), Honewell, GE, and Pratt & Whitney. The proposed aircraft? Boeing’s KC-767, which Muellner says completed its initial flight testing with the Italian Air Force.
Lockheed Martin projects more than a billion dollars of losses on a classified program, but company officials said April 23 they are confident it will turn profitable by 2028 and become a "franchise" system in the U.S. military.