US State Department approves sale of tanker aircraft to Japan

The US State Department has approved a possible $4.1 billion sale for up to nine KC-46A Pegasus tankers for Japan — a buy that would more than double Tokyo’s currently planned Pegasus fleet — as well as a potential sale of 32 F-35A stealth fighters for Romania at a price of $7.2 billion, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced today, Report informs referring to Breaking Defense.

While the Romanian F-35 deal has been long expected, Japan’s apparent interest in additional tankers comes as more of a surprise. Tokyo is already one of two international operators of the KC-46A, which is built by Boeing. Lockheed Martin manufactures the tri-variant F-35 and boasts an 18-member international customer base for the jet. The US Air Force is the largest customer for both platforms.

Both announcements, issued in the form of a congressional notification from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), are not final. Quantities and dollar totals often shift during negotiations, and these announcements essentially permit the acquisition process to move forward. And today’s announcements technically tee up an opportunity for lawmakers to block the buys within a 30-day period, though such a step would be unlikely in either case.

The KC-46A sale to Japan would appear to greatly expand Tokyo’s aerial refueling capabilities, critical for extending aircraft ranges over the vast stretches of ocean in the Indo-Pacific. Besides the refuelers themselves, the sale would include up to 18 PW4062 engines made by Pratt & Whitney, along with associated subsystems and support equipment. The announcement does not say when the aircraft would be expected to be delivered.