Program Reaches New Milestone With Hose Extension

Boeing officially announced Tuesday it will offer the KC-767 Advanced Tanker for the US Air Force's KC-X Tanker competition.

"The Air Force has made it clear -- the mission is refueling aircraft, often in tight, hostile locations. The Boeing KC-767 Advanced Tanker is made for this mission," said Ron Marcotte, vice president and general manager of Boeing Global Mobility Systems. "It is the ideal fit for the requirements set forth in the Air Force's Request for Proposals. Highly energy efficient, agile and with exceptional takeoff performance, the KC-767 puts more fuel closer to the fight -- with access to more than 1,000 additional bases worldwide than the KC-135."

The tanker will be an advanced derivative of the future 767-200 Long Range Freighter and will be produced at Boeing's facilities in Everett, WA, where it's already produced more than 950 767s. The company will install military refueling systems and conduct flight test activities at its finishing center in Wichita, KS.

The Chicago-based planemaker made several tweaks to the design of its upcoming 767 freighter to better suit its new role as a tanker. The Seattle Times reports those changes include modifications to increase fuel efficiency, as well as changes to improve the 767's short-field performance.

In related news, the KC-767 reached another major milestone Saturday when its aircrew successfully extended and retracted the refueling hose from the centerline hose drum unit (HDU) during a test flight over Kansas.

Over the next several months, Boeing will conduct some two dozen flights at various speeds and altitudes while trailing the hose to ensure the system's stability. At the end of the hose is a backward-facing funnel-shaped basket -- or drogue -- which mates with the refueling probe installed on some jet aircraft.

"Obviously we see trailing the Hose Drum Unit as a significant step forward since most of our country's military aircraft utilize this system when refueling," said Lieutenant Colonel Roberto Poni, Italian Air Force Tanker program liaison.

The USAF primarily uses a boom for aerial refueling, but the Italian Air Force, along with the US Navy, US Marine Corps and other NATO countries predominantly use probe and drogue refueling.

The KC-135 has probe and drogue capability, but the hose and drogue must be installed on the ground. In its RFP, the USAF stated a need for both boom and probe and drogue refueling capability for the KC-X.

When fully functional, the HDU has the capability to refuel large or small probe-equipped aircraft with an offload rate of 600 gallons of fuel per minute.

The KC-767 also is configured to carry two Wing Aerial Refueling Pods (WARPs) for probe and drogue refueling missions, allowing the simultaneous refueling of multiple aircraft. The WARPs can offload 400 gallons of fuel per minute.

Boeing has partnered with Smiths Aerospace, Rockwell Collins, Vought Aircraft Industries, Honeywell and the newest member -- Spirit AeroSystems in building the KC-767. The team has proven expertise in aerial refueling systems, network centric operations, integrated avionics solutions and lean manufacturing concepts.

"This KC-767 Advanced Tanker will support more than 44,000 American jobs and 300 suppliers," said Mark McGraw, vice president, Boeing Tanker Programs.

Boeing says it has already invested more than $1 billion in the KC-767. Aside from the wing refueling pods and the HDU, the company says it sports a fly-by-wire boom, the most advanced 777 commercial digital flight deck and a third-generation remote vision refueling system.

Boeing is building four KC-767 tankers each for Italy and Japan. Both countries are slated to get their first tanker this year.

FMI: www.boeing.com