WASHINGTON \u2014 The $44 billion KC-46 program is at risk of further schedule delays, the Government Accountability Office stated in a new report.
Two major challenges stand in the way. First, Boeing may not be able to conduct an electromagnetic effects test scheduled for May 2017. The test, which is held at a specialized facility, will evaluate whether the KC-46 creates any electromagnetic interference. However, because the Federal Aviation Administration has yet to approve the aircraft\u2019s aerial refueling pod design, the Air Force will have to decide whether to test the aircraft and pods separately or risk pushing the test to a later date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GAO also has questions about whether Boeing can finish developmental flight tests as quick as it plans, noting that the company “is projecting that it can complete test points \u2026 at a rate higher than it has been able to demonstrate consistently.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boeing must finish an average 1,713 test points per month to enable the first aircraft deliveries in September 2017, but it has exceeded that number only once, when it completed 2,240 test points in October 2016, the report said. When looking at data from March 2016 to January 2017, the agency found Boeing\u2019s average completion rate was about 800 test points per month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
By other benchmarks, the program is performing admirably. For instance, the aircraft is meeting its performance goals, and costs are lower than expected \u2014 a feature virtually unheard of in major defense programs. The GAO notes that the KC-46 program\u2019s total estimated acquisition cost has dropped by about $7.3 billion since the initial estimate, a 14 percent decrease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Much of that success can be attributed to the fact that there have been no alterations to the tanker\u2019s requirements and few engineering changes, the agency stated. But another key factor is the Air Force\u2019s fixed-price contract with Boeing, which holds the company responsible for cost growth. Boeing has already paid more than $2 billion for overruns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But during an earnings call earlier this year, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg struck an optimistic tone on the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“While we still have flight testing to go, it\u2019s very clear now that we\u2019re not discovering new testing risks,” he said. “It\u2019s now about getting the first 18 aircraft delivered.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The KC-46 program was approved for low-rate, initial production in August, about a year later than expected. Boeing plans to deliver the first tanker this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Auditors say Boeing will deliver the first 18 aircraft and refueling pods 14 months late.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":35445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":7,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"4":{"categories":["your-air-force","news"],"primary_category":"your-air-force"}}},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3384],"class_list":["post-17222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-air"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"BMIHAQUOLRDTNFXQJXZKF4YIUA","arc_canonical_url":"\/air\/2017\/03\/24\/already-a-year-delayed-kc-46-program-at-risk-of-further-schedule-slips\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n