Still Cannot Make Planes

The US Air Force is delaying acceptance of the remote vision system for its KC-46 tanker because it does not work properly.

It should be noted that Boeing pretty much invented the aerial tanker following WWII, and now it cannot make its next one work.

This is what happens when the C-Suite drones take over, lots of stock buybacks, but they cannot make planes any more:

The plan to fix the KC-46’s troubled Remote Vision System (RVS) is delayed as the U.S. Air Force and Boeing try to work through a longstanding issue with the aircraft’s panoramic visual system—how it meshes together a system of cameras to detect incoming receiver aircraft—as well as the quality of the cameras themselves.

The Preliminary Design Review (PDR) of the “RVS 2.0” system began in May 2021 and, after initial positive reactions, Air Mobility Command expected it to close in the fall of last year. Now, the Air Force has recommended the PDR stay open until a fix is reached to address deficiencies with the panoramic visual system, which detects, recognizes and identifies receiver aircraft during refueling.

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The issue focuses on three cameras on the belly of the aircraft and how the system integrates their feeds. The Air Force requires the system to be able to detect an incoming receiver aircraft at a sufficient distance to allow the boom operator to prepare the refueling operation. As it stands now, the system is not able to automatically detect the receiver to the extent the Air Force wants, and the operator in certain conditions cannot see the receiver from the required distance either.

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The Air Force and Boeing in April 2020 announced they had reached an agreement on the plan to replace the RVS, which is an overhaul of the technological backbone of the system connecting the boom operator inside the front of the tanker to the boom at the rear. This includes new high-resolution color boom cameras, large color displays, major changes to the whole operator stations, improved aircraft distance measurement and augmented reality. Air Force and Boeing announced they had finalized the design in November 2020. While the boom cameras are being replaced as part of RVS 2.0, there is not yet an agreement on the panoramic cameras.

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KC-46s cannot refuel slow-moving aircraft like the A-10 attack jet due to a lingering “stiff boom” problem. The Air Force is working with Boeing to replace a telescoping actuator in the refueling boom, this time with the government covering the cost. This design is scheduled to complete in fiscal 2024.

“The Air Force is working with Boeing to ensure retrofit kits for the stiff boom are available as quickly as possible once the redesign effort is complete,” the service said in a statement.

Seriously, after delivering thousands of air to air tankers over the years, Boeing cannot make them correctly any more.