Originally Posted by
etudiant
Even factoring in the AF specific extras for the KC-46, the performance is execrable, as Boeing had two prior chances to get this tanker right.
They had KC-767 sales to to Italy and to Japan . Both of those programs were badly messed up,so many of the pitfalls had already been visited before the KC-46 came around. It seems no lessons were learned at all.
I'm not going to defend Boeing's performance on this contract. I will point out the KC-46 would be more properly described as a plane based on the KC-767, but not just the KC-767 with USAF painted on the side. For that matter, Airbus' proposal was based on, but not identical to their very successful A330 MRTT (which hadn't even flown when the RFP was released whereas the basic KC-767 had).
With all the things and changes USAF wanted, I suspect Airbus would have had problems with a US version as well (can you say "US-101/VH-71"?). whether they would have ended up as bad, who can say? I find it noteworthy that it seems the problems are not with the KC-46 aircraft itself but rather than the systems in it, which isn't that much comfort, really.