The Defense Contract Management Agency expects Boeing to miss its August 2017 deadline to deliver 18 KC-46A tankers by seven to 14 months, the agency said in a statement to Air Force Magazine. Boeing, however, still expects to make the deadline and says the company is making “steady progress” in test and production of the aircraft, reported Bloomberg News, which first reported the possible delay. A delay in delivery could mean penalties to Boeing, which is already absorbing more than $1.5 billion in cost overruns in the program. Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein said earlier this month that the KC-46 program is still on track to receive the required amount of aircraft and the service expects to still reach initial operational capability in 2017. Goldfein’s statement came days before DCMA’s projection.
The first A-10 Thunderbolt II has left the Idaho Air National Guard as part of the Air Force’s service-wide effort to divest its close air support aircraft. In late March, the wing's A-10s took on their final mission when multiple aircraft and over 300 Airmen deployed to U.S. Central Command.