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Boeing tanker finishes first night refueling

Boeing’s KC-767 tanker aircraft — its entry into the competition for a $30 billion Air Force contract — completed its first nighttime refueling Saturday when it transferred fuel to an F-15E flying over Missouri, Boeing announced Tuesday.

The tanker, scheduled for delivery to the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force early this year, departed McConnell Air Force Base, Kan., and connected its boom to an F-15E 11 times during dusk and night conditions, according to a Boeing press release.

Boeing uses the F-15E under a research and development agreement with the Air Force, the press release said.

To date, Boeing has logged more than 1,000 flight hours on the KC-767, according to the press release.

Boeing officials hope the Air Force chooses the KC-767 as the winner in the $30 billion, 179-plane tanker competition. An EADS/Northrop Grumman team is offering an Airbus 330 variant called the KC-30.

A decision from the Air Force is expected in February.

The Air Force hopes to have the first new tanker in the air by 2013 to replace the aging KC-135s, some of which have been in service for 40 years.