CEO
Phil Blundell said:
"We would love to have a boom on some of the aircraft, and have had discussions with Airbus DS and touted the idea to the [UK] MoD. It would be a big modification - an MSO station [Mission System Officer/Operator] and other control systems would need to be fitted as well as the boom itself, and there would be issues of certification, training, and crewing - but it could certainly be done," he said.
Issues of crewing and training indeed, but also of ongoing boom operator practice.
Or was Mr Blundell actually saying "We've got rather more aircraft than we know what to do with..."
Nevertheless, not having an organic capability to refuel RC-135 and Sentry seems rather limiting - as would certainly be the case if the UK operated the P-8 unless the aircraft was retrofitted with an AAR probe.