2 octobre 2020 | International, Aérospatial
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force halted a delivery of the KC-46 yet again after problems with the electrical system were found on one new tanker slated to make its way to the service.
The issue was first disclosed during an Oct. 1 hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, when Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said that a KC-46 that was supposed to have been delivered Sept. 25 by Boeing to Pease Air National Guard Base had been delayed.
“They just learned that that delivery was canceled due to electrical problems with the aircraft,” she said to Ellen Lord, the Pentagon's top acquisition official.
In a statement, Boeing said a “minor electrical issue” on a single KC-46 was found by the company during acceptance tests.
“In flight, one of the radar warning receivers is indicating a fault through the plane's fault management system,” Boeing spokesman Larry Chambers said. “We think it may be a poor electrical connection that needs to be re-seated. We are currently evaluating a fix. Resolving this has caused a minor delay to delivery of this single airplane. Boeing expects to conclude this activity within the next several days and is working with the Air Force on a new delivery schedule.”
The issue is not a design or safety-of-flight issue that would pose risk to the aircrew, he added.
But Shaheen, speaking at the hearing, expressed frustration with Boeing over its repeated difficulties designing and building the new tankers, with challenges over the life span of the program that have included wiring issues and problems with the vision system that allows boom operators to safely refuel other planes.
“I've spoken to a whole number of officials from Boeing from our military leadership as recently as last week with Gen. [Jacqueline] Van Ovost, who is the head of Air Mobility Command, all of whom have assured me that we've had good conversations between the [Department of Defense] and Boeing, and that the problems are being worked out. We're not going to continue to see these challenges,” Shaheen said.
“And yet we've got another aircraft that's not being delivered because of another problem. So how do we fix this? Because it is an ongoing challenge that's affecting our ability to our national security, long term if we don't get these refueling tankers up and running.”
Lord responded that KC-46 problems have included design and engineering flaws as well as issues occurring during the manufacturing of the jet.
“The KC 46 has been an extremely problematical program. I speak with Leanne Caret, the CEO of the defense side of Boeing, on a regular basis about it,” Lord said. “One issue is frankly the technical solution. That was the original design [and] is now being redesigned, but also we have had a myriad of manufacturing issues with [foreign object debris] and other issues.”
However, she said the root cause of the problems is the fixed-price firm contract used for the KC-46 program, which makes Boeing financially responsible for any costs beyond the $4.9 billion ceiling. So far, Boeing has spent more than $4.7 billion in company funds on the KC-46 program — almost equivalent to the Air Force's own investment in the program.
The Air Force plans to buy 179 tankers, 38 of which have already been delivered to the service. Seven KC-46s have gone to Pease ANGB.
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By Anthony Capaccio Capping off a contentious contracting tussle with President Donald Trump, Boeing Co. received a $3.9 billion contract to continue development, modification and testing of two new aircraft to serve as Air Force One, according to two people familiar with the decision. The planes, Boeing 747-8s, would be delivered by December 2024. That would be Trump's last full year in office if he wins a second term. Congressional committees were informed of the decision on Tuesday. Trump reached an informal deal in late February with Chicago-based Boeing for the fixed-price contract that a White House spokesman said at the time would save taxpayers $1.4 billion from an earlier projection for buying and outfitting two presidential jets. But public estimates suggest the savings would be far less -- perhaps a few hundred million dollars. Trump shook the defense industry -- and put all large U.S. companies with government contracts on notice -- when he began criticizing the Air Force One contract more than a month before he took office in January 2017. On Dec. 6, 2016 he wrote on Twitter that “Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!” That surprising statement was followed by talks with Boeing Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg. After a visit to Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in January, Muilenburg said, “We're going to get it done for less than that, and we're committed to working together to make sure that happens.” Announcement of the contract came the same day Trump said in an interview with CBS that the new aircraft will be painted “be red, white and blue, which I think is appropriate,'' instead of its traditional white, blue and light-blue color scheme. The Air Force said last year that it saved some money when the president reached a preliminary deal with Boeing for two 747 jumbo jets to serve as Air Force One, taking advantage of an unusual limited-time discount on planes once bound for Russia. Much of the costs for the presidential plane come from pricey and complex modifications required to turn Boeing's iconic hump-backed jets into the flying fortresses that ferry U.S. presidents around the world. The jets would be outfitted with dual auxiliary power units, rather than the one electrical power system standard for commercial jets, along with a complex communications system, work and rest quarters for the first family, elevators to ease boarding, self-defense capabilities and other features, according to Air Force budget documents. The Air Force decided in 2015 to award Boeing a sole-source deal to build the Air Force One replacements without competition while insisting that subcontractors be allowed to bid on its specialized equipment. The service determined then that Boeing's aircraft was the only one manufactured in the U.S. “that when fully missionized meets the necessary critically important capabilities” that the president needs. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-17/boeing-said-to-get-3-9-billion-contract-for-new-air-force-one