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Based on Boeing's 767 commercial airplane, the
NewGen Tanker would replace 179 of the 400 Eisenhower-era
KC-135 aircraft currently in the Air Force fleet,
according to a company statement July 9.
The 8,000-page NewGen Tanker proposal, hand-delivered
to the KC-X program office at Wright-Patterson
Air Force Base, Ohio, offers an American-made,
767-based multi-mission tanker that will satisfy
all 372 mandatory Air Force requirements and be
capable, survivable, and combat-ready at the lowest
cost to the taxpayer. The proposal was created
by an integrated "One Boeing" team from
various sites across the company, including employees
from the Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space
& Security; and Engineering, Operations &
Technology organizations.
Said Dennis Muilenburg, president and CEO of
Boeing Defense, Space & Security: "Boeing
has more than 60 years of experience developing,
manufacturing and supporting tankers for America's
warfighters, and we're ready to build the NewGen
Tanker now. This revolutionary tanker will deliver
widebody capabilities in a narrowbody footprint,
operate in any theater or from any base, and --
with the lowest operating cost of any tanker in
the competition -- save the Air Force and the
American taxpayers billions of dollars."
Based on the proven Boeing 767 commercial aircraft,
the NewGen Tanker is a widebody, multi-mission
aircraft updated with the latest and most advanced
technology and capable of meeting or exceeding
the Air Force's needs for transport of fuel, cargo,
passengers and patients. It includes state-of-the-art
systems to meet the demanding mission requirements
of the future, including a digital flight deck
featuring Boeing 787 Dreamliner electronic displays
and a cockpit-design philosophy that places the
pilot in command rather than allowing computer
software to limit combat maneuverability.
The NewGen Tanker also features an advanced KC-10
boom with an expanded refueling envelope, increased
fuel offload rate and fly-by-wire control system.
In addition to building the USAF KC-135 and KC-10
fleets, Boeing has delivered four KC-767Js to
the Japan Air Self-Defense Force and is on contract
to deliver four KC-767As to the Italian Air Force.
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