Pentagon expected to OK production of Boeing KC-46 tanker
Everett Herald (WA) 08/12/2016
Author: Dan Catchpole
EVERETT — The Pentagon is expected to put its seal of approval on Boeing’s new KC-46 tanker later this month. That means the company can focus on ramping up production of the aerial refueling tanker as it races to deliver the first batch of 18 to the military. Boeing has already said it will not meet the August 2017 delivery deadline.
Developing the KC-46 Pegasus, which is based on Boeing’s 767 and assembled in Everett, has been a bumpy road, dogged by design and supply chain problems that have added up to more than $1.5 billion in cost overruns for Boeing. The next goal in the multi-role tanker’s development is approval from the Pentagon to officially begin production, a waypoint dubbed milestone C in the program’s timeline.
Despite the various delays and setbacks, “we believe that the aircraft has met all of the wickets that are required to meet milestone C, but of course that remains to be seen, so I’ll say stay tuned on that,” the Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James said in a briefing Wednesday.