30 January 2015 airforce-technology.com

Kaman has secured a contract to manufacture and supply fixed trailing edge (FTE) kits for the Boeing KC-46A Pegasus tanker programme.

Under the multi-year contract, the company's Aerosystems division will supply an undisclosed number of KC-46A FTE kits and assemblies to Boeing.

Kaman Aerospace Group president Greg Steiner said: "Kaman has worked with Boeing to develop a more monolithic design over the base 767 aircraft for the tanker.

"The KC-46A Tanker FTE kit award exemplifies Kaman's capabilities and Boeing's continued confidence in us."

The company handed over its first KC-46A Tanker FTE kit to Boeing in March 2014.

In addition, the company has supplied more than 1,000 FTE kits and assemblies for the Boeing 767 programme since 1986.

Additional contract details, including its value and delivery schedule, remain undisclosed.

KC-46A is a military aerial refuelling and strategic transport aircraft that has been developed from Boeing's 767-200ER. It was designed to replace the US Air Force's (USAF) ageing fleet of KC-135 Stratotankers, which have served as its primary refuelling aircraft for more than 50 years.

The wide body multi-mission aircraft is equipped with the Cobham centreline drogue system, integrated display system, and four body fuel tanks. It will be capable of transporting fuel, cargo, passengers, and patients, at a maximum speed of 915km/h.

Boeing is under contract to deliver 18 KC-46 refuelling aircraft by August 2017 to the USAF, which plans to acquire a total of 179 tankers by 2027.

The company successfully completed the maiden test flight of the first KC-46 engineering, manufacturing and development (EMD) aircraft from Paine Field in Everett, Washington, in December 2014.

The fully provisioned KC-46A tanker is expected to undergo its first flight in early 2015, while delivery of the first production aircraft to the USAF is anticipated to take place early next year.