Is The U.S. Air Force's New KC-45 Tanker Planes Damaging Stealth Aircraft

Boeing

Bloomberg: Scrapes of Planes by Boeing Fuel Tankers

* Air Force concerned paint scraping may damage stealth coatings
* Delivery of the $44.5 billion program was already delayed

The U.S. Air Force is investigating multiple instances of scrapes on aircraft caused during mid-air refueling performed by Boeing Co.’s new KC-46 tanker.

So far, the damage caused by the fuel probe that connects the tanker with other aircraft has been minor, according to a service statement and program documents. But it’s worrying enough that the Air Force issued a top-level “Category One” deficiency report on May 1 after it discovered the damage during post-test flight analysis of video and data.

The Air Force concerns center on whether the unintended contact could damage specialized coatings used on F-35 and F-22 stealth fighters and B-2 bombers, or cause structural damage, according to a program office assessment. There’s also the chance a KC-46 tanker would need to be grounded if the refueling probe was contaminated with stealth coating, it said.

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WNU Editor: This could be a very expensive problem.