Tokyo has selected the Boeing KC-46
tanker aircraft for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. Beating out its main
European competitor Airbus, Boeing has secured the first oversea sale of its
new KC-46 Pegasus tanker aircraf.
Japan’s Defense Minister, Gen
Nakatani, confirmed the deal at a news conference last Friday noting that “with
more aerial tankers, our aerial defense capability will be reinforced.”
Japan, according to media reports,
will procure three KC-46 Pegasus tanker aircraft by 2020 at an estimated price
of about 20.8 billion yen ($172.8 million) per plane. Tokyo has set
aside funds for the procurement of the planes in its fiscal year 2016 defense
budget. A final contract is likely to be signed in early 2016.
Overall, Japan’s Ministry of Defense
(MOD) is requesting a 5.09 trillion yen ($42.38 billion) defense budget for
fiscal year 2016, up 2.2 percent from the current fiscal year.
One of the reasons why the KC-46
Pegasus was selected over a tanker offered by Airbus, based on its A330
commercial jet, is easier interoperability with U.S. aircraft, according to MOD
officials. It is also ideally suited to refuel Japan’s future fleet of
Bell-Boeing MV-22 Osprey aircraft – a hybrid between a conventional helicopter
and turboprop plane (See: “Meet Japan’s Newest Aircraft
for Defending the Senkaku Islands”).
The KC-46 Pegasus conducted its first
maiden flight on September 25 at Paine Field in Washington. Boeing’s tanker
program has been plagued by delays and cost overruns. The plane is an improved
variant of the Boeing KC-767 air tankers, four of which are currently in
service with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF).
“We look forward to working
alongside the US government to help Japan expand its aerial refuelling
capabilities with Boeing’s next-generation KC-46 tanker,” according to a Boeing
statement.
“We appreciate the confidence the
Japan Ministry of Defense has shown in Boeing as we honor our commitments in
country and continue our enduring partnership with Japan, which has been going
strong for more than 60 years.”
According to the Boeing website, the KC-46
Pegasus is a multirole tanker, compatible with international aerial refueling
procedures, and designed to “detect, avoid, defeat and survive threats using
multiple layers of protection, which will enable it to operate safely in
medium-threat environments.” It can carry up to 212,000 pounds (96,000
kilograms) of fuel.
The
United States Air Force (USAF) is planning to induct a total of 179 KC-46
planes by 2027. So far, Boeing has built four prototypes, which form the 418th
Flight Test Squadron, Detachment 1, according to IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly.
The first 18 combat-ready KC-46 tankers are slated to enter service with the
USAF by the end of 2017. By Franz-Stefan Gady
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