Following the news that Boeing has been awarded a second contract this year for KC-46 tankers;

Mathew George, Ph.D., Aerospace & Defense Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view:

“This scheduled order of a further 15 KC-46 tankers aligns with earlier plans by the United States Air Force (USAF) for an order in January 2021 using FY21 funds. The USAF is evidently comfortable enough to continue orders on schedule and earmark funds to help the program return to normalcy, despite COVID-19 pressures

“However, if Boeing is to achieve the planned delivery schedule, the company will need to increase production of aircraft and associated work streams. One way could be to ramp up 767 production.

“Overall, though, this will be welcome news for Boeing and industry watchers. On one hand, you have orders coming through on schedule – which may signal that the Department of Defense and the USAF are shaking off some of the concerns from the pandemic. On the other, it will help raise confidence in Boeing’s program and provide some more positivity to the market.”

Source: GlobalData