Boeing's so-called NewGen Tanker, a 767-based design for the U.S. Air Force KC-X competition, will ­feature a new refueling boom and a flight deck based on the 787 ­airliner.

Company officials say the airframe will be based on a 767, but they decline to say which variant. An artist's concept appears to point to a 767-200.

In a departure from its last KC-X design proposal, Boeing is using the new flight deck, which officials say will provide information displays that are 75% larger than those on the Airbus A330, on which a potential competitor's design will be based.

A Northrop Grumman/EADS team won the last KC-X contest in February 2008 with the A330-based tanker, which drew from the Multi-Role Tanker Transport being built for Australia. But government auditors found missteps in the Air Force's source selection, and the contract was terminated in favor of a new competition.

Also a departure in Boeing's new design is "a new-generation fly-by-wire boom with an expanded refueling envelope and increased fuel-offload rate," according to Boeing's announcement. The refueling boom design is more reminiscent of a KC-10's than that of the KC-135. It is likely this switch was made to achieve the 1,200 gal.-per-minute offload rate demanded by the final KC-X request for proposals (RFP), which was released by the Air Force on Feb. 24. Boeing's boom offered in the last competition used a ruddervator structure more like the KC-135 boom, although its exact capabilities were shrouded in mystery.

The wings on this 767-based tanker appear to be much longer than those on a baseline 767-200 commercial model -- perhaps a design choice made to address wing-flutter issues experienced on the Italian 767 tanker. However, Boeing officials declined to comment on whether the wings, doors, floors and flaps were being pulled from other commercial models.

In the 2007-08 competition, Boeing's offering was derided by some as a "Franken­tanker" for pulling pieces of various aircraft into a single new design. USAF officials considered this approach to be higher risk at the time.

However, in the forthcoming KC-X contest, all 372 requirements are pass/fail, so this strategy may not carry the same stigma as it did before.

Boeing Defense, Space and Security President Dennis Muilenburg says the design will meet all of the 372 pass/fail requirements.

Northrop Grumman/EADS has not yet indicated whether it will bid or back out of the competition, as company officials have threatened. They feel the latest KC-X RFP favors a smaller tanker.

Concept: Boeing