The Air Force will inspect its entire fleet of 89 KC-46A Pegasus aerial refueling tankers after cracks were found on two of the four new planes set to be sent to the Military Delivery Center, the Air Force told The War Zone exclusively. The issue was discovered by Boeing, which makes the jets, the Air Force said.
In addition, Boeing “is taking measures to temporarily halt deliveries until we fully understand the root cause and implement an effective corrective action plan,” the Air Force stated in response to our query about the latest problems with the troubled Pegasus program.
After the inspection, if any cracks are found, “the aircraft will undergo repairs before flying again,” the Air Force explained.
“The cracks were not found on any flight surfaces or hinges, but rather on the primary or secondary structures,” the Air Force told us.
Boeing told us it is working to fix the problem.
“We are working closely with the customer to assess a potential issue on KC-46A aircraft and to mitigate any potential impact to the fleet and in-production airplanes,” the company told The War Zone after our inquiry about the cracks.
The Pegasus program has been beset by problems even before they were delivered. It was years behind schedule before the flying branch received its first KC-46A in January 2019.
As we previously reported, efforts are still ongoing to fix long-standing and serious problems with not only the KC-46’s boom but also the Remote Vision System that boom operators use to guide it into receiving aircraft. These are just two of the many issues that have impacted the program.
Boeing is currently under contract to address issues with stiffness in the boom on the KC-46, a fix that involves hardware and software changes. As for the Remote Vision System, or RVS, the contractor is integrating an entirely new version of this into the tanker. The decision was taken after multiple problems with the original RVS, which was found to be potentially dangerous to use as well as potentially risking making boom operators physically ill.
A scathing Fiscal Year 2024 DOTE report found that the KC-46A was “not meeting many of its suitability metrics.”
“The operational availability (≥80percent threshold) and mission capable rate (≥90 percent threshold) slightly decreased throughout FY24, well below their threshold requirements,” the report found. Moreover, when accounting for partially mission-capable aircraft that are unable to perform their primary [aerial refueling] mission (e.g., due to a broken boom), the effective mission-capable rate falls an additional 24 percent on average. The program continues to suffer from prolonged maintenance repair times due to supply issues with parts needed for repair.”
In March 2024, “the KC-46A program experienced a two-month delay in delivering new aircraft due to the discovery of a broken part associated with the boom,” the report continued. “Inspections of aircraft off the production line found a broken gimbal nut lockwire, a part important for the directional movement of the refueling boom.”
All these problems have cost Boeing a lot of money. In January, the “company revealed fourth quarter charges include a $800 million loss on Pegasus, reflecting what the company said were higher-than-estimated manufacturing costs,” Breaking Defense reported at the time. Boeing “attributed part of that loss to the September strike of its Seattle-area machinist union, which resulted in a seven week production halt on jetliners such as twin-aisled 767 from which the KC-46 is derived,” Breaking Defense added. The company has lost billions on the KC-46 fixed price contract since its execution.
This is yet another blow to a program created to replace the aging fleet of KC-135 tankers, which first flew during the Eisenhower administration in the late 1950s. In addition, the last of the KC-10 Extender refuelers was retired last September.
We will keep an eye on this issue and provide updates when warranted.
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