EVERETT, Wash., March 1 (UPI) -- Boeing workers in the United States took delivery this week of a 767 airliner to be converted into an aerial refueling tanker for the Italian Air Force.
The plane will be the fourth KC-767 delivered to Italy once the conversion at the Boeing plant in Everett is completed and the aircraft is tested.
"Once completed, Italy will have an advanced tanker fleet with unrivaled capability and operational flexibility," said Joe Shaheen, director of Boeing's international tanker program.
Boeing is pitting the KC-767 against a larger plane produced by a team led by Northrop Grumman for the lucrative KC-X program launched by the U.S. Air Force to find a replacement for the KC-135. Boeing has touted the fact the KC-767 is already in production and is based on a proven airliner design.
Italy, however, has not yet made the KC-767 operational. Boeing said in a release Thursday that the first plane delivered to the Italians was still in the flight-test phase.
The plane has racked up more than 700 hours of flight time and recently completed its first in-flight contact with a U.S. B-52 strategic bomber. The test involved the extension and retraction of the plane's Hose Drum Unit for the first time.
