Lockheed, Airbus Factories to Build Air Force Refueling Aircraft

Lockheed Martin has selected the locations that it hopes will manufacture the Air Force’s newest mid-air refueling tankers.

But there’s one major caveat: the defense giant hasn’t secured the contract.

Lockheed and partner Airbus plan to build the airliners in Mobile, Alabama, and modify them into LMXT tankers in Marietta, Georgia. 

The project could create up to 1,300 new jobs between the two sites, Reuters reports.

Those jobs, however, are contingent upon Lockheed and Airbus winning the contract over rival Boeing.

Boeing won the contract for the first of three lots to replace the Cold War-era KC-135 — and is vying for the second.

Boeing’s KC-46 Pegasus, however, has been hindered by numerous technical problems.

Lockheed officials expect the next contract to be awarded in 2024 or 2025.