Mon, Apr 14, 2014
The Boeing KC-46A Tanker, A Derivative Of The 767, Is Progressing But Behind Schedule
The Air Force’s first KC-46A tanker is going through ground testing at this time and the first flight is scheduled for this summer. If this schedule is maintained, full flight testing will be well underway by the end of this year.
However, according to an article in the Air Force Times, It’s still behind the original scheduled time line. It’s reported that Boeing has delayed production of the refueling boom by almost one year due to design changes and component delivery problems. “There’s always some risk in acquisition programs, and the KC-46A program is executing as well as any acquisition program that I’ve ever been involved in in 27 years,” Maj. Gen. John F. Thompson, the tanker’s executive program officer, told lawmakers April 2.
It’s reported that the Air Force estimated the development of the KC-46A program will be over budget by about $1.1 billion but Thompson is quoted as saying, “The rest of this will be borne by the contractor so long as I haven’t changed requirements, I’ve paid my bills on time. It’s really not a big issue for us from the standpoint of execution.”
According to the report, the Air Force is dealing with budget issues just like all other branches of the military service. In order to meet the congressional budgetary requirements, the Air Force is considering grounding its entire KC-10 fleet of aerial tankers. This grounding is reported to be planned to occur at the same time the KC-46A is brought into service.
(Image from file)
More News
Also: Vertical Flight Society, NBAA Maintenance Conference, GA Honored, AMT Scholarship For the first time, students from Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach, Florida, campus took t>[...]
Hazardous Weather Information Summary of significant meteorological information (SIGMET/WS), convective significant meteorological information (convective SIGMET/WST), urgent pilot>[...]
"The need for innovation at speed and scale is greater than ever. The X-62A VISTA is a crucial platform in our efforts to develop, test and integrate AI, as well as to establish AI>[...]
(FAA) Inspector Observed That Both Fuel Tanks Were Intact And That Only A Minimal Amount Of Fuel Remained In Each Analysis: According to the pilot, approximately 8 miles from the d>[...]
“Pyka’s Pelican Cargo is unlike any other UAS solution on the market for contested logistics. We assessed a number of leading capabilities and concluded that the Pelica>[...]