The Italian Air Force will replace and expand its tanker fleet with six new KC-46A Pegasus, after scrapping the modernization of its four KC-767As.
The Italian Ministry of Defense issued a statement informing of its determination to acquire six new in-flight refueling aircraft from the U.S. firm Boeing. Negotiations will be brokered by the U.S. Government to acquire them through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.
Originally, the Italian Air Force’s (Aeronautica Militare) request was to acquire only two additional Boeing 767-300 aircraft and modify them for the multi-role transport and airtanker mission, together with the modernization of its four in-service KC-767As to compatibilize the equipment of the future six-aircraft fleet, but this option was rejected by the technical committee.
The current Italian KC-767As are based on the civilian Boeing 767-200ER (Extended Range) model, but this is no longer produced, other than in its military version, the KC-46A. The plan to buy two 767-300s and convert them into tankers, being aircraft with many differences, would have gone against the intention of making the logistics of the fleet compatible.
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Moreover, it is doubtful that Boeing would have provided assistance for the conversion of ex-commercial 767-300s, because such a product would become a direct competitor to its KC-46A, an aircraft that is sold new from the factory, at a price logically more expensive than that of a civilian aircraft conversion.
KC-767A as part payment
Therefore, the Technical/Administrative Commission in charge of analyzing the options to meet Aeronautica Militare’s requirement recommended purchasing six new KC-46A from the factory, in configuration compatible with the aircraft being received by the USAF.
Regarding the KC-767As currently in operation, they would be sold to Boeing, as an integral part of the contract, since these aircraft cannot be sold to third parties, only to the manufacturer or to the U.S. Department of Defense itself.
The eventual contract for the purchase of the six tankers, together with an integrated logistics support service agreement for the entire fleet for a duration of five years, would be worth approximately 1.122 billion euros.
