U.S. Air Force Plans Increase To KC-46 Fleet Size

The U.S. Air Force plans to field 263 KC-46 refueling tankers to fully replace its KC-135 fleet, an increase for a program originally expected to result in 179 aircraft.

The service’s fiscal 2027 budget request includes $3.5 billion to buy 15 of the tankers, with yearly production rising to 18 per year for 2028-2031. The budget says three more will be produced in the years following. Budget justification documents first stated the fleet projection would ultimately be 319 tankers, but the Air Force later said its budget documents were inaccurate and it plans to buy 263 KC-46s at this point.

“The KC-46 is planned to fully replace the Air Force’s KC-135 fleet, providing critical refueling capabilities to project power, maintain strategic deterrence, and defend the Homeland,” the Air Force says in a statement.

The service’s original, 179-aircraft program of record grew in recent years under contract options to 188. Last year, the Air Force announced a plan to buy 75 more of the tankers as a production extension to bridge to the fielding of a next-generation tanker. This brings the operational fleet to 259, plus four engineering and manufacturing development aircraft. 

Now, the Air Force has put future tanker plans on pause and instead is focusing on communications and survivability upgrades for the fleet.

Budget justification documents show the price per aircraft is now about $199.8 million, a cost that will spike to $321.9 million in 2028.

The tanker has not yet reached a full-rate production decision as it undergoes a long-awaited upgrade to its remote vision system. The Air Force is also modifying its boom to address a long-standing deficiency impacting its ability to top-up slow-flying aircraft like the A-10. Budget documents say fixes will be installed starting in fiscal 2028.

[Editor's Note: This story was amended after the U.S. Air Force corrected its original budget documents and statements to Aviation Week.]