EADS / Northrop Grumman KC - 45 The EADS / Northrop Grumman KC - 45 was a proposed aerial refueling tanker aircraft based on the Airbus A330 MRTT . The United States Air Force ( USAF ) had ordered 179 KC - 45As in the first stage of replacing the aging Boeing KC - 135 Stratotanker tankers currently in service . However , the contest was reopened in July 2008 , after Boeing ' s protest of the award was upheld . In response to the new contest , on 8 March 2010 , Northrop Grumman announced it was abandoning its bid for the new contract , with its CEO stating that the revised bid requirement favoured Boeing . On 20 April 2010 , EADS announced it was re - entering the competition and entered a bid with the KC - 45 . Development . Background . From the late 1990s the USAF decided to replace its fleet of KC - 135s . Initially the first batch of replacements was to be an air tanker version of the Boeing 767 – 200 , which was selected over the Airbus 330 - based tanker . Instead of outright purchase , as is the usual practice , the Air Force would lease the 767 tankers from Boeing . In January 2006 , then - Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announced the cancellation of the KC - 767 contract . Rumsfeld stated that this move would in no way impair the Air Force ' s ability to deliver the mission of the KC - 767 , which was to be accomplished by continuing upgrades to the KC - 135 Stratotanker and KC - 10 Extender fleets . KC - X program . In 2006 , the USAF released a request for proposal ( RFP ) for a new tanker aircraft , known as the KC - X RFP , which was updated in January 2007 and was to be selected by 2007 . KC - X is the first phase of three acquisition programmes to replace the KC - 135 fleet . On 29 February 2008 , the Department of Defense announced that it had selected the Northrop Grumman " KC - 30 " ( designated the KC - 45A by the USAF ) over the Boeing KC - 767 for the first stage of the programme . On 11 March 2008 , Boeing filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office ( GAO ) for the award of the contract to Northrop Grumman ; Following the protest filing , Northrop Grumman and Boeing engaged in media campaigns in support of their tanker aircraft . On 18 June 2008 , the Government Accountability Office upheld the protest by Boeing on the decision to award the contract to Northrop Grumman , indicating that USAF had not properly evaluated the Boeing and Northrop Grumman bids . On 9 July 2008 Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced the contract for the KC - 45 as an " expedited recompetition " . Defense Undersecretary John Young was placed in charge of the review process , the Air Force having been removed from the award process . On 10 September 2008 , the US Defense Department canceled the KC - X solicitation . Funding for KC - X is to be requested for FY10 - FY15 . In September 2009 , the USAF began the first steps toward accepting new bids . In March 2010 , Northrop Grumman announced that it would pull out of the bidding process . EADS and Boeing submitted their final KC - X tanker bids on 10 February 2011 . On 24 February 2011 , the USAF announced the Boeing ' s bid had won the KC - X contract . Production plans . The first four units would have been converted from passenger versions at EADS EFW in Dresden , Germany . Airbus planned to assemble the aircraft in Mobile , Alabama , after which they would have been modified by Northrop Grumman . EADS had also announced plans to shift A330 commercial freighter assembly to Alabama . As the winner of the Air Force contract , Northrop Grumman and EADS ( the airframe subcontractor ) were expected to invest approximately US $ 600 million in new assembly plants in the United States adjacent to one another in the Brookley Complex in Mobile . EADS ' s failure to win the contract meant that the Alabama production line was never set up . Design . The A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport ( MRTT ) is a military derivative of the Airbus A330 airliner . It is designed as a dual - role air refueling tanker and cargo transport aircraft . The wing air refueling pods are supplied by the British company Cobham . The cargo hold has been modified by Telair to be able to transport military pallets in addition to civilian ULD . The A330 MRTT has a fuel capacity of 245 , 000 lb ( 111 , 000 kg ) in the wings and underfloor tanks . The underfloor tanks do not compromise main deck cargo capacity or seating in the strategic transport role . Standard fuel capacity allows the carriage of an additional 43 , 000 kg of cargo . The A330 MRTT ' s wing has common structure as the four - engine A340 - 200 / - 300 with reinforced mounting locations for the A340 ' s outboard engines . The A330 MRTT ' s wing therefore requires little modification for use of these hardpoint s for the wing refueling pods . The KC - 45 will be fitted with an Aerial Refuelling Boom System ( ARBS ) , two Cobham 905E under - wing refuelling pods and one Cobham 805E Fuselage Refuelling Unit ( FRU ) . Specifications . " Note : specifications denoted with a " * " are for the A330 . "