Boeing to Build 2 More Japan KC-46A Tankers Under $398M Contract Modification

Boeing (NYSE: BA) has received a $398.2 million contract modification from the U.S. Air Force to deliver two additional KC-46A Pegasus tankers to Japan, bringing the total number of aircraft on contract for the East Asian country to six.

The firm-fixed-price modification increases the contract’s total face value to $1.3 billion and the company will perform work in Everett, Washington, through June 30, 2025, the Department of Defense said Tuesday.

In December 2017, the Air Force selected Boeing to build the first KC-46A tanker for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force under the foreign military sales program. The company secured a contract for a second aerial refueling aircraft a year later.

Japan received the first tanker in October 2021 and the second aircraft in February 2022.

In October 2020, the service branch exercised the option for the JASDF’s third and fourth tankers.

“This additional KC-46A acquisition reinforces the U.S.-Japan security alliance to support security and stability throughout the Pacific region,” said Will Shaffer, president of Boeing Japan.

Boeing’s partners in Japan manufacture 16 percent of the tanker’s airframe structure.

KC-46A is designed to refuel U.S. and allied military aircraft, transport personnel and cargo and support aeromedical evacuation missions.

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