Italy Air Force eyes new tanker competition after dropping Boeing buy

ROME — Italy is mulling a competition to find a new tanker aircraft after suspending plans to buy six new Boeing KC-46 tankers, sources have told Defense News.

The competition, which could be held this year, will likely see the Airbus A330 MRTT tanker in contention to replace the Italian Air Force’s four Boeing 767-based tanker aircraft which entered service from 2011.

Should the Airbus aircraft be picked, it would mark an important shift for Italy after relying on Boeing tankers for over a decade.

In 2021 Italy announced plans to upgrade its B-767 tankers and purchase two more, but the following year Rome changed tack, opting instead to buy six new KC-46 aircraft, aligning itself with the United States, which has acquired the more modern aircraft.

Italy’s plans all changed last month, however, when defense planners issued a document stating the €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion), six-aircraft KC-46 purchase had been halted “due to changed and unforeseen needs.”

No further explanation was given, although the decision could be linked to issues over the cost and promised delivery time of the new aircraft, Defense News has learned.

The KC-46 has been plagued by problems including a troublesome Remote Vision System , aimed at giving boom operators a view of refueling operations. The delivery of a replacement dubbed the RVS 2.0 is set to slip to 2026, the U.S. Air Force said in March.

Italy’s suspension of its purchase has prompted plans for a possible competition “to be held within months” said a source who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to speak on the record.

Officials have not ruled out a KC-46 buy, but want to see what else is on the market, the source added.

The most likely alternative is the Airbus A330 MRTT, which has been acquired by France, Spain and the U.K.

The Italian Air Force is meanwhile planning to spend €7.5 billion on 24 new Eurofighter jets to replace 26 older versions due of service in 2028.

Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.

罗马——据《防务新闻》报道，消息人士透露，意大利在暂停购买六架新的波音KC-46加油机的计划后，正在考虑通过竞标来寻找新的加油机。

这项竞争可能会在今年举行，空客 A330 MRTT 加油机很可能参与竞标，以取代意大利空军自 2011 年开始服役的四架波音 767 型加油机。

如果选择空客飞机，这将标志着意大利在依赖波音加油机十多年后，迎来一次重要的转变。

2021 年，意大利宣布计划升级其 B-767 加油机并再购买两架，但第二年罗马改变了策略，转而选择购买六架新的 KC-46 飞机，与已购入更现代化飞机的美国保持一致。

然而，意大利的计划在上个月发生了彻底改变，国防规划人员发布了一份文件，称由于“需求发生变化且无法预见”，价值 11 亿欧元（12 亿美元）、购买 6 架 KC-46 飞机的计划已被中止。

虽然没有给出进一步的解释，但据《防务新闻》了解，该决定可能与新飞机的成本和承诺的交付时间问题有关。

KC-46加油机一直饱受各种问题的困扰，其中包括故障频出的远程视觉系统（RVS），该系统旨在为空中加油操作员提供加油作业的视野。美国空军在3月份表示，名为RVS 2.0的替代系统的交付时间将推迟到2026年。

一位因未获准公开讲话而要求匿名的消息人士称，意大利暂停采购促使各方计划在“几个月内”举行竞标。

消息人士补充说，官员们并未排除购买 KC-46 的可能性，但想看看市场上还有什么其他选择。

最有可能的替代方案是空客A330 MRTT，法国、西班牙和英国都已采购了该机型。

与此同时，意大利空军计划斥资 75 亿欧元购买 24 架新型台风战斗机，以取代 2028 年退役的 26 架老旧型号。

汤姆·金顿是《防务新闻》驻意大利记者。