Lockheed Martin has revealed its plans to produce the LMXT, its version of the Airbus A330 MRTT, in the United States. The defense sector giant wants to manufacture the European plane together with Airbus in the states of Alabama and Georgia.
Larry Gallogly, Lockheed Martin's LMXT program director, spoke about the company's plans for the "new" tanker. In order to reduce the risks with the USAF's KC-Y program – in which the LMXT will compete against the KC-46 – the plane will be assembled at the Airbus line in Mobile, Alabama, while the conversion to a tanker will take place at the line at Lockheed in Marietta, Georgia. The Airbus line in the US produces some A320 Family aircraft.
Should the A330 MRTT-based offer be chosen for the expected requirement of 140-160 aircraft, Airbus will transition its A330-200 assembly line from Toulouse, , to Mobile, where new facilities will be built, points out the Flightglobal.
The jets are currently undergoing the conversion process at the Airbus Defense facility in Getafe, Spain. However, the portal The War Zone claims that at least some prototypes of the LMXT would be made in Europe, going through the same process as the other A330 MRTT.
“Airbus will also help train the Lockheed Martin US workforce on key aspects of the MRTT conversion process and will engineering work on the initial LMXT design, as well as any future upgrades or other modifications.”
“We are really taking advantage of a highly skilled and experienced workforce in this area,” says Gallogly, who also highlights the importance of Mobile port access for the delivery of large airframes.
To transform the A330 into an LMXT in the US, Lockheed will refurbish its L-10 hangar in Marietta. The large structure was, until recently, used in the modernization of the C-5M Galaxy freighters.
.@LockheedMartin's LMXT strategic tanker will be produced in Alabama and Georgia, providing an American-built solution to the @usairforce's KC-Y requirements.
— Lockheed Martin News (@LMNews) January 31, 2022
The facility is large enough to accommodate four C-5s, offering more than enough space to establish a tanker conversion line, notes the Warzone. In all, Lockheed expects the LMXT project to create approximately 1.300 new jobs across the companies, in addition to having additional benefits in the US supply chain.
“This will be built in America, by Americans, for Americans,” says Gallogly about the A330/LMXT for the USAF. Lockheed's production plan involves "a small fraction" of the total fleet being completed in Europe during a personnel training process and while infrastructure work in the US is being completed.
At the same time, the LMXT program would continue “recognizing and respecting that there is a very successful existing supply chain that s MRTT now”, added Gallogly. "We don't want to do anything that increases the overall cost of the aircraft or induces any risk in our production and performance with this aircraft."
Lockheed anticipates that the USAF will issue an initial request for proposals (RFP) for its KC-Y by the end of this year, with a final RFP release expected in March or April 2023. The final configuration of the LMXT also depends on requirements. from the USAF.
Contract award is scheduled for late 2024 or early 2025, with deliveries starting in the period 2029-2030. If selected, LMXT deliveries will begin shortly after completion of the USAF's total order of 179 KC-46 aircraft acquired under the KC-X program.
