Defense contractor Boeing announced that complications with the KC-46 tanker’s refueling system will mean a delay in the company’s contract with the US Air Force.
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The first 15 tankers had been slated to be delivered in August 2017.
The company plans to build an initial 179 of the aerial tankers for the Air Force, but hopes it can sell ~400 worldwide.
“Technical challenges with boom design, and issues with certification” of some of the systems led to the delays, Brigadier General Duke Richardson, program executive officer for tankers, said in a statement on Friday.
Some analysts expect Boeing to lose money on each KC-46 aircraft, which is made from a modified Boeing 767 jetliner, but earn it back through sales of spare parts and upgrades. “However, we understand that no major procurement program is without challenges and the Air Force remains committed to ensuring all aircraft are delivered as technically required”. The first 18 aircraft delivered in the summer or fall of 2017 will come equipped with refueling booms and centerline drogue refueling systems, but the WARPs will not be available for another year. There will be a maintenance facility at Tinker Air Force Base and Altus Air Force Base will serve as a training center for its crew. “There is no increased cost to the government as a result of these changes”.
The Milestone C decision, which determines the start of full-rate production, had already slipped from April to June and is now in August, the USAF says. However, both the air force and Boeing said they anticipate its 18 KC-46’s to have this wing pods technology by October 2018.
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Cost overruns led Boeing to take a $243 million pre-tax write-off on the KC-46 program, according to the Seattle Times.
