Boeing has released the list of its major suppliers for the KC-46A tankers that it will supply to the Air Force to replace the service’s oldest KC-135s. “We’re fortunate to have a strong defense industry team of domain experts,” said Maureen Dougherty, Boeing’s KC-46 program manager. The KC-46A is based on Boeing’s 767-200ER commercial aircraft; two Pratt & Whitney PW4062 engines will power it. Among the major suppliers and the components they will provide are: Cobham: wing aerial refueling pods; DRS Laurel Technologies: Aerial Refueling Operator Station; Goodrich: landing gear; Honeywell: auxiliary power unit; Northrop Grumman: Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures system; Raytheon: digital radar warning receiver; Rockwell Collins: integrated display system; Spirit: forward fuselage section; Triumph Group: aft body section; and Woodward: aerial refueling boom elements. Boeing will assemble the KC-46 at its existing facilities in Everett, Wash., and Wichita, Kan. (For more on the KC-46A, read The Tanker Answer from Air Force Magazine’s June issue.)
In the wake of a major Chinese military shakeup, the head of U.S. Space Command warned of China’s “breathtakingly fast” advances in space during visits to Japan and South Korea. Gen. Stephen N. Whiting’s trip to the Indo-Pacific is his first overseas visit since taking command of SPACECOM in January.