Photo: Lockheed Martin
In September of last year, defense contractor Lockheed Martin announced the arrival of a new tanker aircraft, the so-called LMXT. The airplane is the company’s entry in the U.S. Air Force’s (USAF) KC-Y Bridge Tanker Program that seeks a replacement for the aging KC-135.
The program was established in the summer of last year, and it’s still ongoing, but that hasn’t stopped Lockheed Martin from announcing the manufacturing locations for its entry.
Mobile, Alabama, and Marietta, Georgia, are the two places selected to assemble the flying machine. Mobile is where the Airbus A320 and A220 are already being put together, while Marietta is the site of an existing Lockheed facility, home of the C-130J Super Hercules final production and F-35 Lightning II center wing assembly lines.
The LMXT is based on the Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT), and it will be built as such in Alabama. Once ready, it will be shipped to Georgia to be converted into the tanker.
The airplane promises to be a revolution in the world of airborne tankers, coming with “significantly improved range and fuel offload capacity over current tankers,” the world's first fully automatic boom/air-to-air refueling (A3R) system, and “multi-domain operations node that connects the LMXT to the larger battlespace.”
It will also be equipped with a permanently installed medevac suite and will be capable of carrying six military pallets. It will be capable of flying for up to 19 hours at speeds of just under Mach 1 and carry 271,700 lbs of fuel with it.
"The LMXT will strengthen global security by enabling our U.S. service members to carry out their most critical missions at extended ranges,” said in a statement Lockheed Martin Chairman CEO James Taiclet.
“At home, the LMXT will strengthen job growth and manufacturing by drawing on the experience and talents of a high-tech American workforce in two states that are proven leaders in aviation."
Mobile, Alabama, and Marietta, Georgia, are the two places selected to assemble the flying machine. Mobile is where the Airbus A320 and A220 are already being put together, while Marietta is the site of an existing Lockheed facility, home of the C-130J Super Hercules final production and F-35 Lightning II center wing assembly lines.
The LMXT is based on the Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT), and it will be built as such in Alabama. Once ready, it will be shipped to Georgia to be converted into the tanker.
The airplane promises to be a revolution in the world of airborne tankers, coming with “significantly improved range and fuel offload capacity over current tankers,” the world's first fully automatic boom/air-to-air refueling (A3R) system, and “multi-domain operations node that connects the LMXT to the larger battlespace.”
It will also be equipped with a permanently installed medevac suite and will be capable of carrying six military pallets. It will be capable of flying for up to 19 hours at speeds of just under Mach 1 and carry 271,700 lbs of fuel with it.
"The LMXT will strengthen global security by enabling our U.S. service members to carry out their most critical missions at extended ranges,” said in a statement Lockheed Martin Chairman CEO James Taiclet.
“At home, the LMXT will strengthen job growth and manufacturing by drawing on the experience and talents of a high-tech American workforce in two states that are proven leaders in aviation."
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