Boeing delivered the sixth and final test MH-139 helicopter to the Air Force last month, the company announced Nov. 20—clearing the way for the first production aircraft to arrive around mid-2024, a spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine.
The first T-7A Red Hawk landed at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., on Nov. 8, marking the start of the developmental flight test campaign for the two-seat jet, which is meant to replace the aging T-38 as a trainer for fighter and bomber pilots.
The Air Force aims to release a request for proposals for the KC-135 Recapitalization Program—formerly called the “bridge tanker”—in fiscal 2025 but has yet to set an acquisition strategy for the aircraft, waiting for more industry input, a service spokesperson said. The service isn’t saying ...
With a $482 million third-quarter charge against its Air Force One/VC-25B, Boeing is now up to $1.3 billion in losses on the project. It also lost $350 million on an unnamed satellite program and $136 million on the Navy's MQ-25 refueling drone.
Boeing submitted paperwork to deliver the first T-7A Red Hawk trainer jet to the Air Force on Sept. 12, marking the latest step as the service aims to achieve initial operational capability in 2027.
The Air Force will officially take ownership of its first production-representative T-7A trainer jet “in the coming weeks” and quickly move into flight testing from contractor Boeing’s St. Louis facility, a service official said last week. After that, the first two Red Hawks will transfer out ...
More than six years after the Air Force identified the first serious deficiency on the KC-46 tanker, six such “Category 1” deficiencies remain, an Air Force official told reporters last week. One, however, was downgraded in April, said Col. Leigh Ottati, chief of the KC-46 ...
Boeing has resumed deliveries of KC-46 tankers after a prolonged halt due to quality problems with fuel tanks, company president and chief executive officer David Calhoun said July 26 during a second quarter earnings call. Yet company officials said supply chain problems continue to afflict ...
Air Force flight testing for the T-7A Red Hawk kicked off June 28, with a USAF pilot flying the advanced trainer from contractor Boeing’s St. Louis, Mo., facilities. The event, announced by Boeing, marks the first official test flight conducted by an Air Force pilot ...
As near-peer adversaries have increased their reach and lethality, the U.S. Air Force is accelerating the tanker fleet recapitalization and aggressively pulling forward the Next Generation Aerial Refueling System (NGAS) to meet the threat. Globally operating the KC-46A has advanced mission...
When the Air Force sets a new program baseline for the B-52 re-engining this fall, there will be “some” cost increase, because the project wasn't previously fully funded, and the Air Force has a better handle on actual supplier costs and knowledge from ground testing, ...
The Government Accountability Office says there are likely more delays ahead for the T-7A trainer, and the Air Force should build a realistic plan for testing and fielding the jet that takes into account the concurrency of design, test, and production.