Delivery delays of the KC-46 tanker catch heat from Air Force
The years-long, drama-filled saga to replace an aging fleet of U.S. Air Force tankers continues to drag on.
In 2011, Boeing Co. won the first phase of a lucrative $35-billion total contract to build the next generation of aerial refueling tankers after a contentious battle involving three bid competitions and prison terms for a former company executive and former Air Force official.
Boeing's design was seen as relatively low risk - the Chicago aerospace giant's tanker bid was based on a modified commercial 767 passenger jet. But delivery of the first KC-46 aircraft - last planned for August 2017 - is now expected to be more than a year late, and technical issues have cropped up
