According to the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) new report, the U.S. Air Force’s KC-46 Pegasus tanker’s flaws won’t be fixed before 2026 or 15 years after the company won the contract. The service is expected to purchase at least 175 Pegasus but has ordered 91.
According to the report, various critical deficiencies limit how and when the aircraft can be employed in their primary role as aerial refuelling military aircraft. KC-46 tanker’s “Remote Vision System” (RVS) used by airmen to guide a refuelling boom during the in-flight fits into another plane still has deficiencies problems.
The RVS had two key flaws, according to the Air Force. First, the video system prevented the boom operator from clearly seeing the aircraft fuel receptacle to connect the receiver. Secondly, the lack of optical clarity caused unnoticed collisions or scrapes, which resulted in receiver aircraft damage in some circumstances.
According to the GAO, the RVS cannot presently be utilised for all aerial refuelling operations since it does not operate under changing illumination circumstances. During developmental flight testing in 2018, the Air Force discovered a serious flaw with the boom. It discovered that the originally extended boom carrying gasoline was excessively stiff and impeded the fuelling of lighter aircraft such as the A-10 and F-16.
The company disclosed $402 million pre-tax in charges for KC-46A Pegasus tanker in 2021, according to recently disclosed full-year results for 2021.
