Boeing Co's KC-46A refuelling plane has been approved for production, with work underway for the first two low-rate initial production lots to be awarded in the next 30 days, the US Air Force said on Friday. "The KC-46 programme has made significant strides in moving the Air Force toward the modernization needed in our strategic tanker fleet," Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said in a statement announcing the approval.
The Air Force added it would soon award Boeing contracts for the first two batches, 19 aircraft in total, with a pre-negotiated combined value of $2.8 billion. Last month the KC-46 refuelled an A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft in flight, passing the final test needed to begin initial low-rate production. Boeing expects to deliver a first batch of 18 tankers in January 2018 instead of August 2017.