Air Force’s KC-46 tanker delays won’t affect Fairchild operations

fairchild-air-force-base

Postponed deliveries of a new tanker fleet aren’t expected to affect operations at Fairchild Air Force base near Spokane.

A recent government report indicates that design problems with the Air Force’s new KC-46 Pegasus tanker could cost an additional $300 million and delay until next year the full delivery of the new airplane, which is designed to eventually replace the aging KC-135 Stratotankers like those based at Fairchild.

KC-46 Pegasus

According to a report by the federal Government Accountability Office, continuing problems with the refueling boom on the Pegasus could inadvertently scratch fighter jets’ stealth coatings, making them susceptible to radar. Despite the problems, which will require some redesigns, the delays in the KC-46 tankers are not expected to have an impact on the role at Fairchild.

Between the active Air Force units with the 92nd Air Refueling Wing and the Washington Air National Guard’s 141st Air Refueling Wing, Fairchild is home to some 48 KC-135s, which came into service in 1957 and are based on the Boeing 707 airframe.

By the end of next year, which is the new deadline for the delivery of the KC-46s at other air bases, Fairchild should support 60 of the KC-135s. As for the KC-46 Pegasus, which is based on the Boeing 767 airframe, the GAO report was not all bad news.

Despite the $300 million cost for retrofitting the existing KC-46s, the overall cost of delivering the 179 tankers is now expected to amount to $43 billion, which is about $9 billion cheaper than an estimate in 2011. Still, the delay could mean that Boeing will not be able to deliver nine sets of the wing aerial refueling pods until mid-2020, which is about three years later than expected. (Spokesman Review)

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