Air Force Accepts Flawed Boeing Tanker in a $44 Billion Program

Service to withhold up to $28 million on each aircraft
Camera system used in refueling may take four years to fix

Bloomberg’s Emma Chandra reports on Boeing delivering a flawed tanker to the U.S. Air Force.Markets: Balance of Power." (Source: Bloomberg)

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By Anthony Capaccio

January 10, 2019 at 2:45 PM UTC

Updated on

January 10, 2019 at 3:43 PM UTC

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The U.S. Air Force has accepted the first delivery of Boeing Co.’s long-delayed aerial refueling tanker despite flaws that remain to be fixed, the service said Thursday.

The first eight of 179 planned KC-46 aerial tankers in the $44 billion program will be accepted from now through February. That’s more than two years late -- and it may take as long as four more years to upgrade the troubled camera system used in refueling operations.