With KC-46 and KC-Z, the US Air Force is like a tiger with wings.
The KC-46 has not yet entered service, but the US Air Force has already begun thinking about the next generation of unmanned tankers.
The head of the US Army's Air Mobility Command said he is unsure whether the first KC-46A aerial refueling tanker will be completed and delivered by the October deadline.
Previously, the Pegasus program missed its original delivery date of August 2017. In early June, the US Air Force announced that the first aircraft in the contract to supply 18 fighters must be delivered to the air force by next October, and the rest must be delivered by April 2019.
“The schedule looks pretty well set, but there are still some hurdles there,” Gen. Carlton Everhart II, commander of the Air Mobility Forces, said on August 2 during a conference call with reporters in Washington. So, “is the October timeframe still going to hold?” Everhart asked.
The KC-46 is one of the Air Force's top procurement priorities. The plan calls for buying 179 aircraft to replace its aging KC-135 fleet, at an estimated cost of $44 billion. Boeing is the prime contractor on the project.
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| Will the first KC-46A be delivered to the US Air Force next October? |
“There are still some challenges to overcome, including certification and technical issues,” Everhart noted. “What I need is to stay on schedule to deliver the first aircraft,” Everhart continued.
Boeing is reportedly developing a software fix for the forward-vision system designed to give pilots better visibility for refueling operations.
“The program is on track. The plan to deliver the first KC-46 remains in October,” a Boeing spokesman said.
The US company also added that the remaining 17 aircraft will also be delivered shortly thereafter, but Boeing will have to work further with the Air Force to have a specific schedule.
Meanwhile, the US Air Force is looking towards the next generation of tankers, also known as the KC-Z, which will be stealthy or unmanned.
“We are forwarding those requests to industry and then waiting to hear back,” Everhart said.
The head of the US Air Force also said he hopes the US arms manufacturing industry will have an answer for the Air Force within the next 12 to 18 months regarding the production of unmanned tankers.
General Everhart also confidently said that when the KC-46 goes into operation and if there is more KC-Z, in the not too distant future, the US Air Force will be like "a tiger with wings".