Reports: Boeing will likely miss initial KC-46A tanker deadline

Boeing will likely miss its August 2017 deadline to deliver 18 KC-46A refueling tankers, according to a Bloomberg report.

As part of Boeing’s $51 billion KC-46 program, the company is expected to provide 18 of the tankers to the Air Force by that time. In total, Boeing has been contracted to produce 179 of the next-generation tankers, which will eventually replace the half-century-old KC-135 tanker fleet.

Wichita’s McConnell Air Force Base will be the first active-duty-led base in the country to fly the planes.

Officials at McConnell have previously said that delays to the aircraft will not affect on-base operations, and construction to house the planes is well underway.

According to the Bloomberg report, the Defense Contract Management Agency said it has “low confidence in Boeing’s ability” to meet the August 2017 deadline. It is predicting the first 18 will come by March 2018, and that schedule could be delayed further, according to the report.

Boeing spokesman Charles Ramey said the company “still expects to meet the August 2017 (required assets available) date.”

“We are making steady progress in flight test and aircraft production and believe we are taking the right steps to fulfill our commitment to the Air Force,” he said in an e-mail.

Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said in a statement: “The Air Force has assured me in recent hearings and through official correspondence that the KC-46A timeline remains on track and aircraft will start arriving in March 2017.

“I will continue to work closely with the Air Force to make certain McConnell is ready and equipped for the arrival of the KC-46A.”

McConnell is expected to receive 24 KC-46As between March 2017 and June 2018, according to an Air Force letter to Moran.

McConnell is then expected to receive 12 additional planes from April 2019 to January 2020, completing its expected fleet of 36.

The KC-46A is a militarized version of Boeing’s 767 airliner. It can hold nearly 213,000 pounds of fuel and can also carry cargo and serve in a medical evacuation role, according to Boeing.

Problems with the aircraft in 2014 and 2015 postponed the plane’s first flight until September 2015, and the company is currently testing the aircraft in anticipation of a “milestone C” decision – formal approval from Congress to begin production.

This story was originally published March 23, 2016 at 12:15 PM with the headline "Reports: Boeing will likely miss initial KC-46A tanker deadline."