EVERETT — Problems with suppliers and software integration have contributed to the latest delays to the development schedule for the U.S. Air Force’s new aerial refueling tanker, according to a report by federal auditors.
Boeing’s KC-46 was supposed to fly in January, then April, and now perhaps not until later in the summer, Secretary of the Air Force Deborah James told lawmakers on Wednesday.
According to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office, the company’s “suppliers are not delivering aerial refueling systems on time.”
Design changes and late deliveries of parts contributed to pushing back the flight test program, the report said.
The program has had twice as many software problems than expected that affected the development schedule, according to the GAO.
The software problems have been overcome, program officials told the GAO.
Air Force officials overseeing the program are still tracking software as a risk, but don’t “believe there are any significant software-related issues at this time,” the report said.
“We’re working hard to complete functional tests leading to the first tanker flight,” Caroline Hutcheson, a spokeswoman for Chicago-based Boeing, said. “Boeing’s got a team focused on keeping the KC-46 program on track and moving it forward, and we have a plan in place with the Air Force to reduce risk and to execute our flight-test plan.”
In addition to troubles with the refueling boom and software problems, the GAO said “another supplier has experienced significant delays in manufacturing” aerial refueling wing pods that will allow the tanker to simultaneously refuel two fighter jets.
The delays are “due in part to challenges with parts delays and engineering design changes,” the GAO said.
“While we’ve had some delays with parts, we’ve made significant progress with suppliers and are working with them closely to improve processes and ensure they meet our need dates,” Hutcheson said. “Where it makes sense we’ve sent Boeing representatives on site to help. Assembly continues to progress well and all aircraft are in a mature state of build.”
The program had been delayed several months in 2014 due to problems with placement of wire bundles inside the airplane. Redundant wire bundles had been placed too close together, creating a risk that damage to the airplane could take out a system’s primary wiring and its backups.
A stripped-down, non-military version, known as a 767-2C, flew in late December, six months behind Boeing’s own development schedule.
The full military model, the KC-46A, was supposed to fly in late April, but James, as well as other sources familiar with the program’s test schedule, said that spring or summer is more likely.
Boeing hasn’t missed any contractual deadlines, but Air Force officials say the company can’t afford many more complications if it is going to deliver the first 18 combat-ready aircraft by August 2017, as required by a fixed-price design and development contract that caps federal costs at $4.9 billion.
Boeing has to pick up any cost overruns on the development contract, which the Air Force estimated to reach as much as $1.6 billion.
The company has said that it bid the contract aggressively.
Boeing might lose money on developing the tanker, but it will likely more than make up those costs in full-scale production at Boeing’s Everett plant, service contracts and future upgrades, aerospace analysts say.
This fall the Pentagon plans to decide on whether to tell Boeing to start low-run production of the KC-46 Pegasus. In all, the Air Force plans to buy 179 — including the first batch of 18 — of the tankers to replace many of its aging KC-135 tankers. The contract is estimated to be worth $41 billion.
The tanker program is undergoing scrutiny on Capitol Hill as lawmakers review the service’s fiscal 2016 budget request.
The KC-46 is one of the Air Force’s top three procurement priorities.
The plane will carry 212,229 pounds of fuel and is designed to resupply any U.S. warplane. It also will be capable of carrying as many as 18 cargo pallets and performing aeromedical evacuations of as many as 58 passengers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Dan Catchpole: 425-339-3454; dcatchpole@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @dcatchpole.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
