Boeing on track to deliver fifth, sixth KC-46As to Japan this year: Exec

A Japan Air Self-Defense Force KC-46A Aerial Refueling Aircraft departs for a refueling mission during Exercise Cope North 25, Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. (Commonwealth of Australia photo by Mikaela Fernlund)

DSEI JAPAN — Japan is on track to take delivery of its fifth and sixth KC-46A Pegasus tankers later this year, a senior industry official here said, also revealing a tanker from the existing fleet refueled an allied aircraft during an exercise a few months ago.

During its participation at the multinational Exercise Cope North held in Guam in February that involved Australia, Japan, and the United States, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) KC-46A refuelled coalition as well as Japanese aircraft, according to Boeing’s Executive Director for Defense and Government Services in East Asia John Suding.

He did not name the coalition aircraft, but a Japanese air-to-air refuelling standards release document uploaded to the NATO Joint Air Power Competence Center in March said that Japan’s KC-46s have been cleared to refuel Australian and USAF F-35As as well as the latter’s F-15s, F-16s and F-22s.

Beyond the fifth and sixth tankers Suding said Japan should expect this year, the nation has also been cleared by the US State Department in September 2024 to acquire nine more KC-46s, with the Japanese government having already allocated 206.8 billion yen ($1.44 billion) to acquire four of these in December 2024 in its FY 2025 defense budget.

Boeing Regional Director for India and the Asia Pacific Randy Rotte also confirmed at the briefing that the 17 CH-47F Block II Chinook heavy lift helicopters ordered by Japan in February will be split among the JASDF and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF).

Both services currently operate earlier versions of the Chinook. Japan is the largest operator of the helicopter outside the United States, with just under 70 examples in service, and Boeing sees the possibility of further orders from Japan as it progressively refreshes its fleet with the latest Chinook model.

The latest batch of helicopters will undergo final assembly in Japan by Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI), which has been assembling Japanese Chinooks since the 1980s. Boeing and KHI have delivered over 100 Chinooks to the Japan’s Self-Defense Forces over the past four decades.

The Boeing executives also touched on Japan’s ongoing effort to upgrade its fleet of F-15 Eagle interceptors, with Suding telling reporters that systems integration work is ongoing at Boeing’s facilities in St. Louis.

The Department of Defense issued a $450 million contract to Boeing in December 2024 for the purchase of radars, self-protection systems, and mission computer units.

The program to upgrade 68 of Japan’s newer F-15J interceptors, which were introduced in the 1980s, would see them fitted with new mission computers, Raytheon AN/APG-82(v)1 multimode Active Electronically Scanned Array radars and the BAE Systems AN/ALQ-239 digital electronic warfare systems similar to the USAF’s new-build F-15EX Eagle IIs.

Japan’s upgraded F-15s will also gain a stand-off strike capability following the upgrades with the integration of the AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) will carry out the actual upgrade work in Japan, but both Boeing and MHI were cagey when asked about the delivery timelines for the program, referring Breaking Defense to the JASDF when asked.