{"id":32670,"date":"2015-03-19T18:42:19","date_gmt":"2015-03-19T18:42:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2015\/03\/19\/secaf-kc-46-first-flight-hopefully-summer\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:38:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:38:09","slug":"secaf-kc-46-first-flight-hopefully-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/breaking-news\/2015\/03\/19\/secaf-kc-46-first-flight-hopefully-summer\/","title":{"rendered":"SecAF: KC-46 First Flight &#8216;Hopefully&#8217; Summer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 The Air Force secretary expects the KC-46A tanker to have its first flight sometime over the summer, a &#8220;several month&#8221; delay for a milestone on the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The timeline laid out for Defense News by Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James clarifies <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">provides clarity to <\/span>comments made Tuesday by Brig. Gen. Duke Richardson, program executive officer for tankers, that the tanker was going to miss the expected first flight date of mid-April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;It is concerning me,&#8221; James said in a Thursday interview. &#8220;My best belief, at this point, is it will be a several-month delay. So hopefully summertime is when it would occur.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is not the first delay of a major test point on the tanker. The first test flight of a Boeing 767-2C, a test version of the KC-46A without the refueling boom and other tanker equipment, <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">had <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">originally <\/span>been <\/span>was scheduled for June <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">of <\/span>2014; it eventually occurred just before the New Year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Executives for Boeing have emphasized <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">in the past <\/span>that its focus is on a contractual obligation to provide 18 ready-to-go tankers on the ramp by 2017, and noted that first flight dates are targets, not obligations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>James did say <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">note <\/span>that the KC-46 program has some good news, noting that the costs are capped and the company is largely on track for its major contractual requirements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, Richardson warned on Tuesday that the margin built into the schedule was essentially gone, and that any delay in getting that first flight up was a concern because of the need to get air worthiness certifications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>James echoed Richardson&#8217;s concern about the lack of margin, and added that Boeing has submitted a new integrated master schedule, laying out its internal target dates, for review by the Air Force. <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">She added that timeline is under review.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;The worrying news is that underneath those contractual and milestone requirements, there are a whole lot of other milestones,&#8221; James said. &#8220;This is the internal plan for how do you get from here to there to meet the milestones. That&#8217;s where there have been challenges and slippages and so forth, so that is the worrying part.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The KC-46A will replace the majority of the service&#8217;s <span class=\"rte rte-comment\">current <\/span>tanker fleet with 179 new planes, based on a Boeing commercial design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Email: <a href=\"mailto:amehta@defensenews.com\">amehta@defensenews.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Air Force secretary expects the KC-46A tanker to have its first flight sometime over the summer, a &#8220;several month&#8221; delay for a milestone on the 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