Marshall Aerospace has been awarded an order to design and supply body fuel tanks for the Boeing KC-767-derived tanker to boost its flight range and refuelling capability.

The US Air Force (USAF) recently selected Boeing’s KC-46A as the in-flight refuelling tanker.

Under the estimated $165m contract, Marshall will supply a batch of tanks to be fitted to development aircraft production orders, with each aircraft capable of carrying four tanks.

The company expects follow-on orders from the USAF for more than 650 tanks over a 15-year period, according to Defence News.

The KC-46A tanker is a widebody, multimission aircraft based on the Boeing 767 commercial airplane.