{"id":34269,"date":"2019-02-28T22:25:46","date_gmt":"2019-02-28T22:25:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/02\/28\/air-force-forces-boeing-to-make-changes-after-problems-with-kc-46-production\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:47:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:47:29","slug":"air-force-forces-boeing-to-make-changes-after-problems-with-kc-46-production","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/air-warfare-symposium\/2019\/02\/28\/air-force-forces-boeing-to-make-changes-after-problems-with-kc-46-production\/","title":{"rendered":"US Air Force forces Boeing to make changes after problems with KC-46 production"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 The U.S. Air Force will decide today whether to start <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/air\/2018\/12\/31\/first-kc-46-delivery-stalled-by-mattis-departure\/\" target=_blank>accepting KC-46 tankers <\/a>from manufacturer Boeing, after problems with foreign object debris led to a weeklong grounding of flights <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/newsletters\/tv-next-episode\/2019\/01\/20\/the-air-force-accepts-the-first-kc-46but-theres-a-catch\/\" target=_blank>at Boeing\u2019s production line<\/a>, the service\u2019s top acquisition executive said Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The service ordered Boeing to pause flight operations last week due to finding tools and other foreign object debris, or FOD, on KC-46 aircraft moving through the acceptance process, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seattletimes.com\/business\/boeing-aerospace\/boeing-tanker-jets-grounded-due-to-tools-and-debris-left-during-manufacturing\/\" target=\"_blank\">The Seattle Times reported on Feb. 28<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2019\/01\/25\/the-air-force-gets-its-first-new-kc-46s-an-event-decades-in-the-making\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Tanker-Water-1.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">US Air Force receives new KC-46 aircraft, an event decades in the making<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Air Force is set to get its first long-delayed Boeing KC-46 Pegasus air-refueling tankers at McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since then, the Air Force and the Defense Contract Management Agency have outlined 13 different process improvements that it expects Boeing to put in place, said Will Roper, the Air Force\u2019s assistant secretary of the air force for acquisition, technology and logistics, during a roundtable at the Air Force Association\u2019s Air Warfare Symposium.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/breaking-news\/2019\/01\/10\/boeing-delivers-first-kc-46-but-fixes-to-technical-problems-still-years-away\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/KC-46-row-1-1.jpg-1.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Boeing delivers first KC-46, but fixes to technical problems still years away<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Boeing could miss out on $1.5 billion if the maximum withholding is applied to all 52 tankers on contract.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere are two airplanes that are in queue for acceptance. DCMA has been through them. My team has been through them,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I have a phone call later today to discuss that within each team before we decide whether we will begin acceptance again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf we\u2019re not confident with these two airplanes and the thoroughness with which they have been inspected, then we will keep them on the ground,\u201d he continued. \u201cBut the early feedback I\u2019ve gotten is that there\u2019s been a very thorough scrub, and the planes have been flown by DCMA, so I expect that we will not have any hindrance in these two. But that doesn\u2019t mean that we\u2019re going to feel comfortable that the 13 process improvements have been put in place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/digital-show-dailies\/air-warfare-symposium\/\" target=_blank><b>Read more from Air Warfare Symposium 2019!<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to a memo by Boeing\u2019s factory managers obtained by The Seattle Times, eight tools were found in aircraft at Boeing\u2019s Military Delivery Center, and two tools were found inside aircraft that had been delivered to the Air Force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This was enough to trigger a \u201clevel three\u201d alert in the production facility at Everett, Wash. A \u201clevel four\u201d would prompt a complete shutdown of that installation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is a big deal,\u201d the memo stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The FOD problem is just the latest setback for the KC-46 tanker, which has been beset by multiple schedule and cost overruns over the past several years. The program hit a landmark milestone in January, when the first KC-46 was finally flown from Boeing\u2019s facilities in Everett to McConnell Air Force Base, Kan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While it is undesirable for FOD to be found inside an aircraft \u2014 and often indicates that safety standards have gotten too lax at a production facility \u2014 it\u2019s not an uncommon issue, Roper said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t want to overblow it,\u201d he said. \u201cIf the issue goes away and we have no cause for concern in the future, I\u2019ll just treat it as growing pains. \u2026 If we have this issue again, then \u2014 it\u2019s already serious \u2014 but it will be a much more serious endeavor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Boeing spokesman Chick Ramey confirmed the FOD issue, but noted that there is no change to the tanker delivery schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cKC-46 flights were temporarily paused at the Boeing Military Delivery Center this past week, pending agreement with DCMA and Boeing on a plan to resolve a foreign object debris issue,\u201d he said in a statement. \u2018\u201dSafety and quality are the highest priority at Boeing. We are working together with the USAF\/DCMA and expect to resume flight operations to support training flights today.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Problems with foreign object debris led to a weeklong grounding at a key Boeing 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