Page 25 - Combat Aircraft (January 2020)

This year has seen a succession of problems emerging for the
USAF’s already delayed Boeing KC-46 tanker program.
Combat Aircraft assesses the options available to the US Air Force.

REPORT Jon Lake

HINGS HAVE GOT steadily addressing a Cat 1 problem affecting the
worse this year for the US Air KC-46’s remote vision system (RVS), and
Force’s new in-flight refueling estimated that it would be another four
tanker, the Boeing KC-46A. years before the type is ‘into the fight’ — or
Brand-new aircraft coming operationally deployable.
T off the production line in It should, on the face of it, have
Seattle were found to have foreign been so easy.
objects and debris left inside them from
manufacturing — and this problem A troubled tanker
allegedly recurred even after Boeing Few could have predicted that Boeing
was supposed to have put measures — creator of the super-successful KC-135
in place to solve it. Next, it emerged Stratotanker, which was based on the
that cargo restraints in the aircraft hold design that also spawned the Boeing
came unlocked in flight on a number 707 — would experience such difficulty
of occasions, forcing Air Mobility in turning the tried and trusted, utterly
Command (AMC) to ban the carriage familiar and well-proven 767 jetliner
of cargo and passengers. This was yet into an air-to-air refueling (AAR) tanker,
another category one (Cat 1) deficiency, albeit one equipped with infra-red
defined as a shortcoming that ‘may countermeasures, protected against
cause death or severe injury; may cause electromagnetic pulse and fitted with
loss or major damage to a weapon cockpit armor. But adapting the 767 to
system; critically restricts the combat make it the USAF’s new tanker has been a
readiness capabilities of the using difficult and troubled process.
organization; or results in a production An attempt to simply lease 100
line stoppage’. KC-767A tankers from Boeing ran into
At the Air Force Association’s Air, Space political opposition, and the subsequent
and Cyber Conference in September, AMC compromise solution of buying 80
commander Gen Maryanne Miller said aircraft and leasing 20 more was officially
that Boeing had not made any progress in canceled by the US Department of

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