http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOv3oAajtsAKC-46A boom problem busts USAF scheduleFlightglobal - BY: Stephen Trimble, May 27, 2016
The US Air Force has delayed a full-rate production decision for the KC-46A Pegasus until August and deliveries to the first operational unit will come about three to six months late, and even then will lack one critical system for at least another 12 months.
The announcement on 27 May on the eve of a USA federal holiday confirms months of findings by operational testers and government auditors that the five-year-old KC-46A development programme was unlikely to stay on original schedule, despite repeated vows by USAF and Boeing officials to the contrary.
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. Service officials blame a nagging hardware problem with unexpected loads on the fly-by-wire refueling boom for the move to delay the Milestone C decision another two months.
Boeing also is struggling to integrate a long list of engineering changes into a production system already supporting 20 aircraft derived from the 767-2C freighter in various stages of assembly, the USAF says.
The Cobham-made wing aerial refueling pods (WARPs) continues to face qualification challenges and are now expected for delivery to the USAF in October 2018, Boeing says. 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.
“Throughout KC-46 development, the air force remained cautiously optimistic that Boeing would quickly address these issues and meet the original goal,” USAF programme executive officer Brig Gen Duke Richardson says in a statement. “However, we understand that no major procurement programme is without challenges and the Air Force remains committed to ensuring all aircraft are delivered as technically required.”
Since the $4.4 billion development contract for 179 tankers was awarded in 2011, the USAF has reimbursed an extra $500 million in contractually-allowed overruns and Boeing has recorded a further, combined $1.5 billion loss over several write-downs, including most recently a $243 million announced for the first quarter. Boeing won the tanker contract by submitting a bid priced $4 billion less than EADS North America (now called Airbus Group Inc).
Boeing says it continues to demonstrate its commitment to the programme, despite the losses and new delays.
“The KC-46 tanker will play a vital role in America’s air mobility forces providing both global power projection and unrivaled global reach for decades to come,” the USAF says in a statement.
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/kc-46a-boom-problem-busts-usaf-schedule-425823/MissionThe KC-46A is the first phase of a 3-phase effort to replace the U.S. Air Force's aging tanker fleet. With more refueling capacity and enhanced capabilities, improved efficiency and increased capabilities for cargo and aeromedical evacuation, the KC-46A will provide aerial refueling support to the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps as well as allied nation coalition force aircraft.
FeaturesThe KC-46A will be able to refuel any fixed-wing receiver capable aircraft on any mission. This aircraft is equipped with a modernized KC-10 refueling boom integrated with proven fly-by-wire control system and delivering a fuel offload rate required for large aircraft. In addition, the hose and drogue system adds additional mission capability that is independently operable from the refueling boom system.
Two high-bypass turbofans, mounted under 34-degree swept wings, power the KC-46A to takeoff at gross weights up to 415,000 pounds. Nearly all internal fuel can be pumped through the boom, drogue and wing aerial refueling pods. The centerline drogue and wing aerial refueling pods are used to refuel aircraft fitted with probes. All aircraft will be configured for the installation of a multipoint refueling system.
MPRS configured aircraft will be capable of refueling two receiver aircraft simultaneously from special "pods" mounted under the wing. One crewmember known as the boom operator controls the boom, centerline drogue, and wing refueling pods during refueling operations. This new tanker utilizes an advanced KC-10 boom, a center mounted drogue and wing aerial refueling pods allowing it to refuel multiple types of receiver aircraft as well as foreign national aircraft on the same mission.
A cargo deck above the refueling system can accommodate a mix load of passengers, patients and cargo. The KC-46A can carry up to 18 463L cargo pallets. Seat tracks and the onboard cargo handling system make it possible to simultaneously carry palletized cargo, seats, and patient support pallets in a variety of combinations. The new tanker aircraft offers significantly increased cargo and aeromedical evacuation capabilities.
The aircrew compartment includes 15 permanent seats for aircrew which includes permanent seating for the aerial refueling operator and an aerial refueling instructor. Panoramic displays giving the ARO wing-tip to wing-tip situational awareness.
Background
The Boeing Company was awarded a contract for the Engineering and Manufacturing Development phase of the KC-46 program on Feb. 24, 2011. The initial flight of the KC-46A aircraft is scheduled for late calendar year 2014. The current contract, with options, provides the Air Mobility Command an inventory of 179 KC-46 tankers.
General CharacteristicsPrimary Function: Aerial refueling and airlift
Prime Contractor: The Boeing Company
Power Plant: 2 Pratt & Whitney 4062
Thrust: 62,000 lbs - Thrust per High-Bypass engine (sea-level standard day)
Wingspan: 157 feet, 8 inches (48.1 meters)
Length: 165 feet, 6 inches (50.5 meters)
Height: 52 feet, 10 inches (15.9 meters)
Maximum Takeoff Weight: 415,000 pounds (188,240 kilograms)
Fuel Capacity: 212,299 pounds (96,297 kilograms)
Maximum Transfer Fuel Load: 207,672 pounds (94,198 kilograms)
Maximum Cargo Capacity: 65,000 pounds (29,484 kilograms)
Pallet Positions: 18 pallet positions
Air Crew: 15 permanent seats for aircrew, including aeromedical evacuation aircrew
Passengers: 58 total (normal operations); up to 114 total (contingency operations)
Aeromedical Evacuation: 58 patients (24 litters / 34 ambulatory) with the AE Patient Support Pallet configuration; 6 integral litters carried as part of normal aircraft configuration equipment
(Current as of February 2016)
http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/FactSheets/Display/tabid/224/Article/104537/kc-46a-pegasus.aspx
