Gen. Carlton Everhart, commander of Air Mobility Command, expects Boeing to stick to the KC-46A delivery timeline, but USAF must hold the company to the schedule or else there could be challenges to operations. AMC needs to stay “combat ready,” and the delivery schedule of KC-46As, expected to begin in 2017, needs to happen to not have an effect on the rest of the force, he said at ASC15. The first KC-46A outfitted with a refueling boom and other military hardware is expected to fly for the first time on Sept. 25. The service is watching this schedule closely with an eye on the remaining margin, Everhart said at ASC15. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James announced Aug. 24 that she has directed the Air Force to study potential operational impacts if the Pegasus schedule slips beyond what is expected. It’s too early to tell what these impacts are, Everhart said.
A legislative standoff has led to a lapse in a $4.26 billion small business innovation contracting program widely used by the Air Force and could spell the end of it entirely, industry sources warned Air & Space Forces Magazine.
