Article Posted on : - Mar 07, 2010

The Boeing NewGen tanker. Boeing photo illustration.

WASHINGTON (BNS): The Boeing Company will be offering the Boeing NewGen Tanker to the US Air Force that will meet all the warfighter’s mission requirements for the next several decades.

According to a news release by Boeing, the Boeing NewGen Tanker will satisfy all mandatory Air Force requirements and offer an American-made tanker that will be capable, survivable, and combat-ready at the lowest cost to the taxpayer.

“Having supplied tankers to the Air Force for the past 60 years, Boeing has drawn on its unmatched aerial-refueling experience to thoroughly review and evaluate the KC-X solicitation issued by the Air Force. We respect and understand the KC-X requirements, and appreciate the importance of this program for the United States and its warfighters," said Dennis Muilenburg, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, as reported in the release.

The NewGen Tanker is a widebody, multi-mission aircraft based on the proven Boeing 767 commercial aircraft, updated with the latest and most advanced technology and capable of fulfilling the Air Force’s needs for transport of fuel, cargo, passengers and patients.

The multi-mission aircraft is named NewGen because it includes several state-of-the-art systems to meet the demanding mission requirements of the future.

The Boeing NewGen Tanker will be controlled by the aircrew, which has unrestricted access to the full flight envelope for threat avoidance at any time, rather than allowing computer software to limit combat maneuverability.