KC-46A Tanker Squadrons

Abstract

Replacement of the legacy tanker fleet will take place in several stages. The initial tanker replacement increment of KC-46s will replace roughly a third of the current capability. Future programs will ultimately recapitalize the entire tanker fleet over a period of more than 30 years. The Air Force completed an Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) in Apr 2006 to determine the most appropriate strategy to recapitalize the aging fleet of aerial refueling aircraft. Based on this analysis, the Air Force concluded a strategy of full and open competition to select a commercial derivative replacement tanker aircraft would result in a best value tanker contract. To initiate the first phase of the tanker replacement, the KC-46 program released a final Request for Proposal (RFP) on 24 Feb 2010, and entered source selection on 9 Jul 2010. The KC-46 program held a Milestone B (MS B) Defense Acquisition Board (DAB) on 23 Feb 2011, received approval to enter Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) from the Undersecretary of Defense (Acquisition, Technology and Logistics) (USD(AT&L)) on 24 Feb 2011, and awarded the KC-46 EMD contract to Boeing on 24 Feb 2011 to develop and procure 179 KC-46 aircraft. The program is procuring four RDT&E aircraft for integration and demonstration of capability which will ultimately be operationally fielded. During production, the program plans to procure 175 aircraft throughout 13 lots. The KC-46 program held a MS C DAB on 12 Aug 2016 and received approval to enter Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP). The program awarded LRIP Lots 1 and 2 on 18 Aug 2016, LRIP Lot 3 on 27 Jan 2017, LRIP Lot 4 on 10 Sep 2018, and LRIP Lot 5 on 27 Sep 2019. Awards for Lot 6 occurred on 12 Jan 2021 and Lot 7 awarded on 20 Jan 2021 totaling 94 contracted production aircraft to date. Lot 8 is planned for award in 2022. The Air Force delivered the first KC-46 to McConnell Air Force Base on 25 Jan 2019. As of 18 Mar 2022, 57 aircraft have been delivered to the Air Force. KC-46 funding also supports Training Systems, Direct Mission Support, Program Support Costs (PSC) activities, government developmental and operational test support, mission planning capability development, various studies and analyses, KC-46 requirements definition and demonstrations in support of Air Force Advanced Battle Management (ABMS) initiative, engineering changes, and future tanker replacement planning activities. The KC-46 will provide the capability to fuel joint and coalition receivers via a boom or drogue system on every mission and will also augment the airlift fleet with cargo, passenger, and aeromedical evacuation capabilities. The KC-46 will operate in day/night and adverse weather conditions to enable deployment, employment, sustainment, and redeployment of U.S. joint, allied, and coalition forces. The KC-46 will have communication, navigation, and surveillance equipment for worldwide operations; the capability to perform missions in chemical and biological environments; the ability to operate in up to medium threat environments with self-defense/protection (both active and passive) capabilities; and the necessary battlespace awareness to mitigate survivability threats. The Aircrew Training System (ATS) and the Maintenance Training System (MTS) are being developed and procured using KC-46 funding. The ATS contract was awarded on 1 May 2013 to FlightSafety Services Corporation. The ATS contract will provide Aircrew Training Devices (ATDs) to include but not limited to Weapon System Trainers (WSTs), Boom Operator Trainers (BOTs), Fuselage Trainers (FuTs), and Part-Task Trainers (PTTs) at each Main Operating Base (MOB) and the Formal Training Unit (FTU). The ATS contract will also support Distributed Mission Operations (DMO), provide aircrew instruction, develop courseware, provide logistics support, acquire a technical data package to support future competition efforts, and manage training device concurrency with the aircraft. The MTS contract was awarded 6 Jul 2016 to The Boeing Company. The MTS acquisition focuses on designing, developing, testing, producing, and fielding an optimized training system for KC-46 maintainers by integrating various forms of training media and Maintenance Training Devices (MTDs) into a "blended" solution. This blended solution includes the appropriate mix of hardware and software, "high-fidelity" Augmented Hardware Training Devices (AHTDs), PTTs, Interactive Multimedia Instruction (IMI), and emerging technologies to meet validated Air Mobility Command (AMC) maintenance training requirements. This requirement supports performance of a full financial audit as required by title 10 U.S.C. Chapter 9A, Sec 240-D. This program element may include necessary civilian pay expenses required to manage, execute, and deliver KC-46 weapon system capability. The use of such programs funds would be in addition to the civilian pay expenses budgeted in program elements 0605827F, 0605828F, 0605829F, 0605831F, 0605832F, 0605833F, 0605898F, and 0606398F. In FY 2021 $0.756 million was expended for civilian pay expenses in this program element, and in FY 2022 $2.173 million is forecasted for civilian pay expenses in this program element. This program is in Budget Activity 5, System Development and Demonstration (SDD) because it has passed Milestone B approval and is conducting engineering and manufacturing development tasks aimed at meeting validated requirements prior to full rate production.

Document Details

• Document Type: R2 Budgetary Justification
• Publication Date: Oct 01, 2023
• Source ID: 0401221F_5_3600_PB_2023
• Change Summary Explanation: FY 2021 funding was reduced by a total of $40.205 million which included a $38.045 million reprogramming action for higher Air Force priorities and $2.160 million for Small Business Innovation Research. FY 2022 funding was reduced by $6.7 million due to a Congressional Directed Reduction for Underexecution. The FY 2022 President's Budget submittal did not reflect FY 2023 through FY 2026 funding. Therefore, an explanation of the change between the two budget positions for FY 2023 cannot be made in a relevant manner.
• Service Agency Name: Air Force

Entities

Organizations

• United States Air Force

Tags

Communities of Interest

• Air Platforms
• Biomedical
• Space
• Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

• Aeromedical Evacuation
• Air Force
• Air Force Facilities
• Aircraft Maintenance
• Aircrafts
• Command And Control
• Department Of Defense
• Deployment
• Emerging Technology
• Logistics
• Logistics Support
• Maintenance
• Market Research
• Procurement
• Refueling In Flight
• Tanker Aircraft
• Test And Evaluation

Readers

• Civilian Systems Systems Program Capability Development and Upgrade Support Activity Expense and Pay Management.