Military Aviation News and Discussion

[John Fedup]

The latest on the KC-46…the Boeing C-F continues. As they continue to bleed money, it is hard to imagine there will be any progress in trying to design and build a competitive and efficient new single aisle jet.

Cracks In KC-46 Tankers Halt All Deliveries

The USAF is inspecting its fleet of 89 KC-46s to see if the problem is systemic and Boeing is working to figure out a fix.

www.twz.com

 

[Terran]

Thing on this one is the Question of where the cracks are.

”The cracks were not found on any flight surfaces or hinges, but rather on the primary or secondary structures”

Boeing is having a really rough decade to be sure. Though it should be remembered that two of the most well known issues with the KC46 are not Boeing but the US Government. The USAF required/designed the Rockwell Collin’s Remote vision system and placed the requirements for the boom. Both proved to be troublesome and would have been on the KC45.

 

[SolarisKenzo]

The latest on the KC-46…the Boeing C-F continues. As they continue to bleed money, it is hard to imagine there will be any progress in trying to design and build a competitive and efficient new single aisle jet.

Cracks In KC-46 Tankers Halt All Deliveries

The USAF is inspecting its fleet of 89 KC-46s to see if the problem is systemic and Boeing is working to figure out a fix.

www.twz.com

The KC-46 saga continues...

Italian Air Force Suspends 1.2 Billion Euro KC-46 Program

The service communicated last week to the Ministry of Defense the decision to halt the replacement of the current KC-767 tanker fleet with the new KC-46

theaviationist.com

Lets see how the italian air force tender goes (Italy being an historic boeing-tankers operator since the KC-707) but if the KC-46 doesnt get selected I can assume the european market is completely gone for boeing (Poland negotiating MRTT and A400M in exchange for a share in Airbus...).
We should have news on the italian air force choice within this summer...

Poland wishes to become a shareholder in Airbus

The aerospace group's CEO is due to visit Warsaw shortly. He is hoping for a major order from the country, which has traditionally preferred to buy from the US.

www.lemonde.fr

 

[John Fedup]

Thing on this one is the Question of where the cracks are.

Boeing is having a really rough decade to be sure. Though it should be remembered that two of the most well known issues with the KC46 are not Boeing but the US Government. The USAF required/designed the Rockwell Collin’s Remote vision system and placed the requirements for the boom. Both proved to be troublesome and would have been on the KC45.

Yes, some of the USAF kit specified with the order is part of the problem for which Boeing can’t be blamed but their horrible QA performance is paramount. Debris and tools left inside supposedly complete jets and now cracks…together with the 737 crap and the 787 rollout wasn’t exactly great so really painful for shareholders and customers. The 777neo is late which begs the question, is Boeing’s financial situation adding to the chaos?