Boeing is set to announce today that it plans to offer the U.S. Air Force a tanker based on its 767 commercial aircraft, according to Reuters.
During the current round of competition, Boeing has not said whether it would offer the 767, as it did in the previous competition, or the larger 777.
Defense analyst Loren Thompson said Boeing will announce its plans at noon today.
The company will offer “a considerably simpler” version of the 767 tanker than the one it bid in the last competition, Thompson told Reuters. That version had included parts of different 767 models and was downgraded as possibly risky by the Air Force.
Boeing declined comment on the report.
Northrop Grumman reportedly said this week that it is nearing a decision on whether to bid in the competition.
