KC-46 boom-vision upgrade slips to summer 2027

Boeing’s long-awaited improve to the KC-46 tanker’s remote-vision system has slipped as soon as once more, the newest delay for the beleaguered program.

“The present projection for fielding RVS 2.0 is summer time 2027. The Air Drive and Boeing are exploring alternatives to stop or mitigate the slip in schedule,” an Air Drive spokesperson mentioned.

The aerial tanker was designed with out the normal window that lets the operator see the refueling growth to steer it towards a fuel-thirsty plane. The cameras and screens of RVS had been alleged to do a greater job. However the preliminary model works poorly, significantly in sure lighting, prompting the Air Drive and Boeing to plan a brand new model.

The improve was initially slated for supply in March 2024, however officers revised that date to October 2025, then 2026, and now mid-2027—three years previous its unique timeline.  

Air Drive Chief of Workers Gen. David Allvin hinted on the contemporary delay throughout a Home Appropriations protection subcommittee listening to on Tuesday: “The most recent estimate on the pacing merchandise is the distant imaginative and prescient system, which, once more: it’s working, it is simply not working as we’d anticipate it to. We’re most likely taking a look at one other 18 months.”

Boeing deferred inquiries to the Air Drive on the brand new timeline for RVS 2.0. 

The improve is meant to repair two of this system’s 5 category-one deficiencies—issues that may probably trigger a crash or lack of life. The others embrace points with the tanker’s drain masts, “stiff growth,” and environmental management system. 

The tanker is “succesful” however “not optimum,” Allvin mentioned, including that he’s met with Steve Parker, interim CEO of Boeing’s protection arm, to go over the remaining deficiencies “line by line.”

These issues have been a serious headache for Boeing, which has spent greater than $7 billion to repair issues with the KC-46.