Boeing Looks to Put KC-46 Tanker Woes Behind It.

AuthorTadjdeh, Yasmin

The Boeing Co. is predicting it will turn a corner this year on the long-delayed KC-46 Pegasus aerial refueling tanker program after a pair of high-profile schedule slippages.

The effort--one of the Air Force's top three modernization priorities--is worth an estimated $44 billion. A total of 179 aircraft are expected to be fielded to replace a third of the service's legacy AC-135 aerial refueling fleet. Boeing won the fixed-price incentive contract in February 2011 after successfully protesting a previous award to Airbus.

Earlier this year, the company faced criticism from government officials and watchdogs who said Boeing was unlikely to meet its fall deadline to deliver the first 18 fully-capable aircraft. The program already missed its original delivery date of August 2017.

Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee in March, Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson said Boeing had been "overly optimistic in all of their schedule reports."

She noted that Undersecretary of the Air Force Matthew P. Donovan had met with executives at the company's Seattle facility for a deep dive with Boeing and we have asked them to put their A-Team on this to get the problems fixed and get the aircraft to the Air Force," she said.

In June, the Air Force announced that it had reached a schedule agreement with Boeing.

"As a result of months of collaboration, the Air Force and Boeing KC-46A teams have reached an agreed joint program schedule to get to the first 18 aircraft deliveries. This includes the expectation the first KC-46A aircraft acceptance and delivery will occur in October 2018, with the remaining 17 aircraft delivered by April 2019," Donovan said in a statement.

While the program is nearly complete, significant work remains, he said. "The Air Force is looking forward to KC-46A first delivery and will continue to work with Boeing on opportunities to expedite the program."

The Government Accountability Office warned in March that the program was likely to face major delays unless risks were mitigated.

Delivery of the first 18 fully-capable aircraft--along with booms and centerline drogue systems--would likely be delayed from October 2018 to May 2019, GAO said in the report titled, "KC-46 Tanker Modernization: Program Cost Is Stable, but Schedule May Be Further Delayed."

The government watchdog also pointed out a critical deficiency related to the performance of the tanker's aerial refueling boom.

"Analysis of boom aerial refueling...

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