Air Force official: Boeing faces challenges on KC-46 tanker program

Schedule slips on the Boeing KC-46A refueling tanker are challenging the program, although the Air Force still expects Boeing to meet the August 2017 target for delivery of the first 18 new KC-46A refueling tankers, according to reports this week.

Further slips, however, could put the August 2017 date at risk.

“Boeing has struggled, from my past experience, on probably the most challenging part of any program, which is the integration and test phase, Lt. Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski, military deputy for acquisition, told reporters Wednesday, according to the Air Force Times. “They had the issue with the wiring and that has proven to be more challenging for them to overcome than I think they originally anticipated.”

Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita is building the tanker’s forward fuselage, struts and nacelles. The plane uses the Boeing 767 as its platform.

McConnell Air Force Base has been tapped to receive 36 new tankers, putting the base in position to be a key factor in the Air Force’s plans for decades to come. The new tankers eventually will replace the base’s Eisenhower-era KC-135 aerial refuelers.

Pawlikowski told reporters that the Air Force expects the new tanker to fly by the end of the year. That is later than expected.

The test plane was supposed to fly in June.

Boeing plans to revamp its schedule for the tanker program by February, according to a report from Reuters.

As it looks now, the Air Force believes the August 2017 delivery date is still doable, Reuters said.

Much of the margin for delays built into the program is being eroded, however.

“The more I’m slipping this out, the tougher it is to meet the date,” Pawlikowski said, according to Air Force Times. “If there are additional challenges going forward, it will be harder to overcome and still hold that (timeline) because you already used the margin that is out there.”

The Air Force plans to develop and buy 179 new refueling tankers. It’s a $52 billion project.

This story was originally published November 20, 2014 at 11:01 AM with the headline "Air Force official: Boeing faces challenges on KC-46 tanker program."