{"id":57567,"date":"2020-03-04T17:46:59","date_gmt":"2020-03-04T17:46:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/03\/04\/lawmaker-floats-boeing-squeeze-play-for-troubled-kc-46\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:18:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:18:22","slug":"lawmaker-floats-boeing-squeeze-play-for-troubled-kc-46","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2020\/03\/04\/lawmaker-floats-boeing-squeeze-play-for-troubled-kc-46\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawmaker floats Boeing squeeze play for troubled KC-46"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON\u2015Amid news<\/a> a correction for the Air Force\u2019s Boeing-made KC-46 tanker won\u2019t be available until at least 2023, lawmakers are mulling ways to pressure Boeing to present a fix and avoid a gap in the Air Force\u2019s vital refueling capability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesday, House Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee Ranking Member Rob Wittman, R-Va., said the Air Force should push Boeing by accepting only the minimum number of tankers and exploring whether to recompete the next phase of the tanker\u2019s development. As Senate Armed Services Committee members said Tuesday they are seeking a path ahead, Wittman said he and House colleagues are doing the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBoeing has to have their feet held to the fire and told, \u2018Yes, you are going to perform, and this is going to get done as quickly as is humanly possible\u2015in the realm of making the right decisions,\u2019\u201d Wittman told reporters on the sidelines of the McAleese & Associates conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though Boeing is already delivering KC-46s to the service, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein on Tuesday disclosed a delay of one-year over previous estimates for Boeing to begin fielding a fix for the tanker\u2019s Remote Vision System. The RVS, manufactured by Collins Aerospace, is a series of cameras that allows users to steer a refueling boom into the aircraft receiving gas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Already, the Air Force is in discussions with U.S. Transportation Command<\/a> over whether to delay newly planned retirements of legacy KC-10 and KC-135 tankers\u2015a more expensive prospect as the Air Force buys new tankers as well. TRANSCOM head Gen. Stephen Lyons warned last week of a potential aerial refueling capability gap, alarming some members of Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Wittman, Boeing has admitted that to fix the system will take new hardware, including a new camera, higher resolution screens and replacing copper cables with fiber optics. Because Boeing scientists see solutions in available technologies, Wittman felt that equipment could be fast tracked through testing and into the KC-46 production line.<\/p>\n\n\n\t