one out nao on a Boeing test flight
BOE469 KC-46 Pegasus from Boeing Field
Plan To Fix Troubled KC-46 Tanker Risks Making Same Mistakes New Report Says
A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, a congressional watchdog, says that the U.S. Air Force will not begin to receive KC-46A Pegasus aerial refueling tankers that incorporate key fixes to the design until 2026 at best. This new review of the program also warns the service's plans to rectify these deficiencies, especially those related to the aircraft's long-troubled Remote Vision System and boom, present new risks that could lead to further delays.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its latest report on the KC-46A today. Earlier this month, the aircraft's manufacturer Boeing marked the milestone delivery of the 50th Pegasus to the Air Force. The service has ordered 91 of the tankers so far and expects to purchase at least 175 of them, in total, in the coming years. Various critical deficiencies continue to limit how and when the aircraft can be employed in their primary role as aerial refueling military aircraft.
"The availability of KC-46 aircraft that meet the requirements set out for them is critical for Air Force to meet the needs of the warfighter," GAO's report says "While the warfighter is using the KC-46, it is partially capable, and any further delays will limit how the aircraft can be used."
As of last year, there were currently seven unresolved issues with the KC-46A that the Air Force categorizes as critical deficiencies, according to GAO. Boeing and the Air Force expected fixes for continuing issues relating to instability with the flight management system, cracking in the air refueling drain tubes and in separate drain masts, and fuel system leaks, to start being integrated into existing and new production aircraft between 2021 and 2022.
However, Boeing remains years away, at least, from rectifying the problems involving the Remote Vision System (RVS), as well as the boom itself, long-standing and serious problems that you can read more about in detail here. On the KC-46A, boom operators sit in the main cabin and utilize the RVS, a hybrid 2D/3D vision system that incorporates feeds from multiple video cameras at the rear of the plane, to remotely guide the boom into receiving aircraft. Boom operators in all previous Air Force tankers have physically sat or lied in a position at the rear of the aircraft while performing this job.
"The Air Force projects the retrofit for the new remote vision system on the first 18 aircraft to span 9 months, from May 2024 through February 2025," according to GAO. "The Air Force also projects the retrofit schedule for the new boom on the first 18 aircraft to start almost 2 years after finalizing the design in September 2023, and to take roughly 6 months, from July 2025 through January 2026. Given these estimates, the 18 aircraft in the final production configuration with the new boom and RVS will not be available until after January 2026."
When the Air Force awarded Boeing its first KC-46A contract in 2011, the plan was to have reached an initial operational capability with these tankers in their primary role as aerial refuelings by 2017. Just last year, the Air Force finally approved the use of the Pegasus in actual operational scenarios, rather than just in support of training and other non-combat missions, but only to refuel C-17 cargo planes, B-52 bombers, and other KC-46As.
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https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/44046/air-force-risks-repeating-its-mistakes-when-it-comes-fixing-its-kc-46-tanker-new-report-says