By
Ben Kesling in Washington andDoug Cameron in Chicago
March 14, 2019 3:45 p.m. ET The U.S. Air Force has lost confidence in
Boeing Co.’s
BA -1.02% ability to maintain quality control over a new aerial refueling tanker it is building, with a senior Pentagon official saying Thursday that it could take at least a year to rebuild trust in the program.
The tanker problems predate this week’s crash of a Boeing 737 MAX airliner being flown by Ethiopian Airlines, resulting in a global grounding of the passenger jet following an earlier crash of the same aircraft model last year.Boeing
delivered the first of the KC-46A Pegasus tankers in January, more than a year late, after a series of production and design problems left the aerospace company nursing $3.5 billion in losses on the initial $4.9 billion contract.The Air Force then suspended deliveries in February after finding tools and other debris left in some jets, prompting a sharp rebuke from defense chiefs.