The Pentagon has started a daily dialogue with its top vendors as it attempts to measure and mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the defense industry. Meanwhile, Boeing and Lockheed Martin said production on major acquisition systems like the KC-46 tanker and F-35 ...
Lawmakers are beginning to weigh how the fiscal 2021 defense policy bill could help solve the KC-46 tanker program’s woes and speed its introduction into regular operations. Congress could dictate the terms of how Boeing should fix the tanker’s faulty remote vision system and how ...
Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein told Senate legislators March 3 the service will not use the new KC-46 tanker unless absolutely necessary to fight a powerful adversary. The wide-ranging Senate Armed Services Committee hearing—the first of multiple chances the Air Force has this week ...
Private aerial refueling may help ease the intense demand for tankers, as service leaders and U.S. Transportation Command debate the plan to retire legacy refuelers. The Air Force’s fiscal 2021 budget request calls for retiring 16 KC-10s and 13 KC-135s. Top USAF and TRANSCOM officials ...
The pressure on the aerial refueling community affects more than the iron on Air Force ramps. Total Force aircrews are part of the most stressed force element in U.S. Transportation Command, Army Gen. Stephen Lyons told the Senate Armed Services Community on Feb. 25. Lyons ...
The new Air Force budget responds to the arrival of peer militaries on the world scene, the service's deputy chief of staff for operations said Feb. 12. The nation must shake off notions about Air Force capabilities that are 30 years old and no longer ...
The Air Force's total budget remains flat in fiscal 2021, with increased funding for space, research and development, and joint service connectivity, but declines in procurement and military construction. The budget funds an additional 1,500 Airmen, and includes a 3-percent pay raise for uniformed personnel ...
Boeing has incurred another $148 million in losses for its KC-46 tanker program due to higher than expected manufacturing costs, as the company works with the Air Force to address continued deficiencies in the tanker’s capabilities. The company disclosed the losses in a Jan. 31 ...
Aerial refueling tanker availability remains a major roadblock to readiness for US Transportation Command, prompting the military to look at retaining even more aging tankers as well as the possibility of relying on private contractors to fill the gaps, the head of TRANSCOM said. Army ...
Dennis Muilenburg resigned Dec. 23 as Boeing's president and CEO, effective immediately, and will be succeeded by board chairman David Calhoun.
The Air Force on Dec. 18 downgraded one of the top-level problems facing the KC-46 program, lifting a three-month ban that stopped the tanker from carrying personnel and cargo as Boeing began installing new cargo locks on the aircraft. The redesigned lock has been retrofitted ...
A KC-46 from the 22nd Air Refueling Wing at McConnell AFB, Kan., took off Nov. 13 and spent 13 days traveling around the world before landing home Nov. 26. The trip included visits to RAF Mildenhall, England, and the Dubai Air Show, according to Air ...