The Air Force’s new KC-46 air refueling tanker might not be delivered this year to Altus Air Force base because of development programs.
Altus is where the training for the giant plane will take place but the Seattle Times reports delivery has been delayed from this fall into next year.
The paper quotes sources as stating that flight testing and certification milestones were missed and other problems have been discovered in flight tests. One of the problems is the extendable fuel boom which was found to scrape against the receiver aircraft.
Boeing earlier had proclaimed that the KC-46 Pegasus tanker would fly in October and be delivered soon to the Air Force. Now that is not the case.
Boeing has a contract worth nearly $40 billion to provide 179 of the tankers. But company spokeswoman Caroline Hutcheson admitted recently there is “near-term cost and schedule pressure.”
The first 18 operational tankers were to be handed over to the Air Force by February 2018. But problems have been encountered as the tankers need to be able to refuel some aircraft from special wing pods. Fixing the problem is costing Boeing not only money but time.
