Since March, the United States Air Force has not accepted new KC-46A Pegasus airborne refueling tankers from its manufacturer, Boeing.
A Pentagon official quoted by Breaking Defense said the delay was due to an issue with a broken part on the aircraft's refueling boom, particularly what it called a "broken boom gimbal nut lock wire."
The official explained that the gimbal was the "swivel joint," which allowed the boom to move in all three axes, while the gimbal nut secured both the boom and the gimbal.
The Air Force added that it initiated inspections of production and fielded aircraft to "ensure continued safety" of the whole KC-46 fleet and its receivers.
The KC-46 Pegasus is the US military version of the twin-engine Boeing 767.
Another Boeing Setback
In a statement obtained by Aviation Week, which first reported the delay, Boeing said that they were "working closely" with the Air Force to "mitigate any impact" the delay would have on the fleet and the procurement process.
Another Boeing official stated that the delay was not a formal pause in deliveries but a "[r]ework" addressing the gimbal issue, adding that the delivery process has "resumed" and was expecting to deliver 15 KC-46As to the Air Force in the current fiscal year.
The production and procurement setback on the KC-46 is but one of many issues Boeing has been facing in the past few months.
VCPost recently reported several incidents involving Boeing in the past few weeks, including the turbulence suffered by a Singapore Airlines flight, which resulted in the death of one passenger and the critical injury of at least seven others.
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