38 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/NOVEMBER 3/10, 2014 AviationWeek.com/awstAmy Butler WashingtonA
lhough Boeing insists it will be able to provide the
U.S. Air Force the 18 KC-46 Pegasus tankers it has
promised in August 2017, fl ight of the fi rst platform
continues to slip.
The company is restructuring internal milestones for the
KC-46 program in order to stay on target for this delivery.
Because it is operating under a fi xed-price contract, Boeing
is allowed some fl exibility and freedom from typical govern-
ment milestones in the program’s development. But it is
responsible for the anticipated cost overage above the gov-
ernment’s $4.9 billion obligation for development and those
fi rst 18 refuelers.
The government’s 2014 estimate for the total cost of work
is $5.9 billion, although Boeing of cials say they expect to
pay far less than that to keep the program afl oat. The com-
pany announced a $272 million charge this summer to stay
on track.
“Boeing is taking a pretty large loss,” Frank Kendall, Pen-
tagon procurement chief, tells Aviation Week. “We expected
that. We think there is a potential for additional loss, but
there is a lot of business for Boeing at the end of this.” The
Air Force plans to buy 179 tankers.
First flight for the initial 767-2C—the commercial de-
rivative on which the KC-46 will be built—however, is now
slated for “late November or early December,” says Caroline
Hutcheson, a company spokeswoman. As of September, of-
fi cials were targeting mid-November; originally, this aircraft
was to take to the skies in June.
“The challenges that Boeing is addressing on its initial
engineering and manufacturing development aircraft are
leading the company to replan elements of its tanker work-
fl ow, and its internal schedules, to remain on track to meet
the August 2017 contractual commitment to the Air Force.”
First fl ight of the fi rst KC-46 is slated for April. USAF Maj.
Gen. John Thompson, former program executive of cer for
the KC-46, said last month if this slips again, a Milestone Cdecision to enter full-rate production could shift as well. The
KC-46 fi rst fl ight is now scheduled about six months later than
the original plan. The Milestone C decision is now expected
in September 2015.
“There has been some slip in the program, but it is not
dramatic,” Kendall says. “They can meet their basic com-
mitments.... Right now, I don’t see a major delay in the
program. It could happen, but I think they are continuing to
make progress.”
The company had to redesign some wiring bundles for the
development aircraft because the original confi guration did
not incorporate proper wiring shielding or adhere to manda-
tory separation distances between systems in some cases.
This separation is considered a safety issue. Boeing reported
that the problem was with 5-10% of the bundles on the Boeing
767-2C prior to FAA testing. Hutscheson says the fi x is “well
defi ned and understood.”
The 767-2C includes about 50 mi. more of wiring than the
commercial 767 variant, which includes about 70 mi. of wir-
ing, according to Thompson.
Also troublesome has been completion of functional test-
ing, according to Ed Gulick, an Air Force spokesman. This
is a result of a “ripple ef ect” from the wiring issue, which
af ects such milestones as power-on and display check test-
ing, Hutcheson says.
The Air Force is assessing a proposal from Boeing to shift
internal milestones to stay on track for the 2017 delivery;
if approved, these changes would be incorporated into the
integrated master schedule early next year, Gulick says.
The service will then conduct a schedule risk assessment,
he says. The government does not yet know how much the
$5.9 billion estimate to complete development will change as
a result of the new plan.
Based on the burn rate of $7.8 million per month to date,
the program will deplete its management reserve funds in
March 2015, Gulick says.
Boeing won the KC-135 replacement contract in February
2011 after a protracted duel with Airbus, which of ered its
A330-based refueler. cDEFENSEKendall is not ruling out more cost
charges for Boeing in KC-46 work
Pressure Is On
BOEING/JOHN D. PARKERThe modifi ed KC-10 boom for use on the KC-46A
was fi t-checked last summer, but development
aircraft are now awaiting fi xes to the wiring.圀漀爀氀搀䴀愀最猀⸀渀攀琀圀漀爀氀搀䴀愀最猀⸀渀攀琀
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