More bad news for Boeing emerged this week: the US Air Force identified two more problems in the new KC-46A Pegasus tanker, produced by the Seattle manufacturer. The two are considered Category 1, the most serious, where it can prevent the operation of the aircraft.
The USAF has found that drain tubes in the refueling receptacle, used to remove water from the aircraft, can crack when the tanker operates in low temperatures, the organization said in response to inquiries from the portal. Defense News. According to the USAF, this problem has occurred about three times, when the water in the pipes froze and expanded, forming cracks in the system.
The other problem is a software bug in the Flight Management System (FMS) which, according to Boeing, triggered "navigation anomalies", adding that the problem did not make the aircraft any less safe and that each KC-46 has already been cleared for to fly.
The USAF, which has already taken delivery of 46 units of the troubled plane, says this problem was limited to "isolated incidents", most recently during a March 03 flight over the Pacific Ocean. The crew used “other methods of navigation and did not declare an emergency during the flight” before landing safely in Honolulu, the Air Force said.
"Boeing will address both issues at its own expense", Air Force spokesman Captain Josh Benedetti said in a statement. “There are no operational restrictions for the KC-46s in service due to any of these deficiencies,” he said. “The [program office] and Boeing have established operational processes and maintenance procedures to mitigate impacts and ensure issues do not add extra risk to personnel, aircraft or operations.”
As a short-term strategy to address the cracked air refueling receptacle tube issue, Boeing has issued inspection guidance to the Air Force to mitigate known risk factors. The USAF also explains that to permanently fix the problem, however, it will be necessary to redesign the drain line tubes and retrofit existing KC-46s with the modification.
Meanwhile, General Electric, Boeing's subcontractor for the FMS, is already testing a software fix aimed at resolving stability issues. Updated pre-flight guidelines and procedures were also delivered to crew .
The two new Category 1 problems other old problems that “haunt” the aircraft, with emphasis on the failures of the Remote Vision System (RVS), which has problems with the cameras and the set of sensors that transmit images to the operators of the booms that conduct in-flight refueling (REVO).
The Bridge Tanker could be a chance for the Airbus A330 MRTT, which mainly competes with Boeing's tanker because it is the only one with a boom, that is, apart from the KC-46, it is the only one that can meet the requirements of the US Air Force.
In the first competition for new tanker planes, the European plane, at the time called KC-45A for the acquisition, was even announced as the winner, but Boeing ended up going to court. In 2011, the American manufacturer was chosen.
Today, there are more than 60 A330 MRTTs in service in countries such as Australia, England, South Korea, Singapore, and others. The REVO aircraft will also be used as a tanker tly operated by member countries of NATO, the US-led military alliance.
