BETHESDA, Md., - Lockheed Martin announced that the LMXT strategic tanker aircraft will be manufactured in Mobile, Alabama, and Marietta, Georgia. The LMXT, which was introduced in September 2021 as the company's U.S. Air Force's KC-Y "Bridge Tanker" Program competition.
Built on the design of the Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT), the LMXT leverages known performance and capability insights from the tanker of choice used by 14 nations around the world to currently refuel fighter, transport and maritime patrol aircraft for the U.S. and allied partners.
With Lockheed Martin as the prime contractor, the LMXT will be built in two phases. Phase 1 will see the LMXT first produced as an A330 airliner at Airbus' Mobile, Alabama, facility, which is where Airbus A320 and A220 commercial airliners are built, beginning with the A320 in 2015.
Phase 2 of the manufacturing process includes converting the commercial aircraft into the LMXT tanker at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics' Marietta, Georgia, facility, which is currently home to the C-130J Super Hercules final production and F-35 Lightning II center wing assembly lines.
