WASHINGTON, Aug. 20 -- The State Department approved a possible sale to Qatar on Thursday of up to four KC-46A aerial refuelling aircraft and the equipment to run them, at an estimated cost of $4.5bn. Tankers are not the sort of purchase that makes headlines, which is part of why this one is worth reading closely.

The notification published by the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs covers the aircraft, eight PW4062 turbofan engines with four installed and four spare, ten AN/ALR-69A radar warning receivers on the same four-and-six split, fifteen Guardian Laser Transmitter Assemblies for Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasure systems, and eight LAIRCM system processor replacements. The department said the sale supports American foreign p...