Boeing Awarded $2.3B Contract By U.S. Air Force for More KC-46s

WASHINGTON — The Air Force has awarded Boeing a $2.3 billion contract for 15 more KC-46 Pegasus Refuelling tankers

The Pentagon announced Friday night that the ninth tanker production lot will be made up of the latest batch of KC-46s. Construction is expected to complete by the end August 2026.

Boeing announced Monday that this increase brings the total number of KC-46s under contract to 128, 68 which have been delivered and are in service.

Boeing also has a contract for 10 more KC-46s. Six for Japan, four for Israel. Japan already has its two first KC-46s.

In recent years, the KC-46 has been able to refuel more aircraft. In September, the Air Force stated that all missions of refuelling on all aircraft around the globe are now possible except for the A-10 Warthog.

In August, a trio of KC-46s carried out the Pegasus’ first refueling missions during real-world operations. These KC-46s were stationed in the Middle East for a training exercise. They refueled F-15E Strike Eagle fighters that were carrying out U.S. Central Command mission.

Two KC-46s flew long endurance flights of 42 hours in December as part of a bomber taskforce mission in the Indo-Pacific.

In addition to the aircraft, the contract also covers data, subscriptions, and licenses.

KC-46s are built in Everett, Washington, on Boeing’s 767 production line. They are able to share data among nearby aircraft and operations centres on the ground, thereby increasing battlefield awareness.