Senior leaders from Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and Airbus reaffirmed their partnership to explore and meet the aerial refueling needs of the U.S. military during a meeting at the Paris Air Show.
Michele Evans, executive vice president for Lockheed’s aeronautics business, said in a statement published Thursday the companies have been working to collaborate on providing an aerial refueling capability for the U.S. Air Force since the signing of a memorandum of agreement in December.
“We believe with Airbus’ and Lockheed Martin’s expertise in air refueling and innovative, combat-tested technologies such as low observability and networking operations, we make a powerful team to address the U.S. Air Force’s tanker needs today and into the future,†Evans added.
Dirk Hoke, CEO of Airbus’ defense and space business, said the two firms look forward to presenting a tanker capability to the U.S. military in the near future.
Under the agreement, the companies will explore fee-for-service framework and other aerial refueling opportunities for the Airbus A330 multirole tanker transport aircraft.
