Air Force's Mismanagement of KC-46 Tanker
Program Is Costing It $100 Million, IG Says
Reports and data released are saying the KC-46
Tanker Program is worth $100 million dollars!
KC-46 Tanker's booming issues have given hard
times even before. The government is planning to invest in the redesigning of
the KC-46 Tanker Program. The new prototype which will have major enhancements
in the booming system will cost nearly around $100 million.
Announcements have created a lot of fuss and
debate around KC -46. Official body even doubted the KC-46 is tangible for the addition of new improvements.
The government is taking a huge financial risk by employing the KC-6. A new
article is to inform what went wrong in KC-6 46.
Recent reports say Airforce accepted to take
all the risks involved in redesigning the prototype of KC-46. Air Force will
suffer in terms of services in case the redesign is delayed. They will have to
pay financially and even in terms of services.
In 2020, Boeing agreed to the condition by
signing a Memorandum which says that they will address issues in KC-46. Their
new prototype is going to be a copy of RVS 2.0 and they committed to completing
the task by mid-2024.
Various contradictions are coming forth, GOA
specifically mentioned the Airforce must ensure that the issues are being
addressed or not.
What
are the defects in the KC-46 program?
KC-46 program is an aerial refueling tanker
used to fuel aircraft. The previous attempt was inclement and the US government
is again planning to reconstruct the prototype. There are tremendous
opportunities to improve. Read below to be informed about what went wrong!
According to the U.S. Government
Accountability Office (GAO), there are seven issues in KC-46, including
cracking in refueling tubes. , separate drain mast, fuel system leaking, and
other minor defects.
KC-46 program had several defects but one of
the major issues is in its Remote Vision
System, or RVs, that system gives the average image of the booming
connection between two aircraft. Boeing
is working to improve the RVS of the KC-46A tanker.
According to IR, the redesigning of the KC-46
Program has been managed successfully,
the management, testing, and
refueling are in progress. And the GoA is expecting better results in the next
testing.
Another issue Refueling Aircraft is the
refueling boom. The issue is highlighted from 2012 then again tested in 2014
after updates. Boeing continues to update the system, the hardware, and the
software, and test are being performed continually.
Even after multiple attempts, the Airfueling
tank boom was scrapped again in 2018. But according to the current scenario,
booming is in control and the government had successfully managed the
issue.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office
(GAO) successfully managed to solve some issues out of seven and some still progress.
So far, Boeing has delivered 46 KC -46
aircraft to the government, and in the future the government plans to order
another 179 aircraft.
Despite all these issues and past experiences,
again buying the same aircraft may be considered as repeating the same mistake.
What
are the The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) suggestions?
GOA specifically mentioned a few opinions
which focus on the amount of risk the Airforce is taking. GOA did the proper
research and then commented on the issue.
GOA said “These
choices mirror those made during the development of the KC-46 that led to the
delivery of an aircraft that did not fully meet its requirements, and the Air
Force stands poised to potentially repeat its past mistake,” GAO said.
As per the above statements, KC-46 is unfitly chosen with multiple technical
errors. Later GOA used the term "an
immature design " for the new system. GOA's main concern is to warn
Airforce about the coming risks. GOA also citizen their testing method. They
even doubt that Boeing is not planning to test the prototype to know the
errors.
"
This arrangement, effectively, reversed the original terms of the firm-fixed
price contract that aimed to hold Boeing fully responsible for delivering a
system that would work in any lighting conditions,”
GAO wrote.
GOA criticized the decision in many ways but
intended to come to the conclusion. They said KC-46 can be used in only certain
conditions that this program is used to train aircraft. The study should be
done next year to test its ability.
GOA already
tried to highlight the coming risk and the past mistakes the country
encountered while testing. They only want to reduce the financial risk.
