- Joined
- Mar 3, 2021
Manufacturing issues and uncertainties over production quantities explain why the Air Force has only received two of the jets to date.
A combination of wrangling over the planned acquisition totals and production issues with the first batches of jets has pushed the timeline to the right.
The Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), responsible for administering contracts for the Pentagon, was “disapproving” of two of Boeing’s business management systems. No further details were provided in the report.
Lot 1B deliveries were due to start in December 2022, but were also hit by sixth-month delays. The GAO attributed these to “production-related issues.” The report explained further: “The primary driver of these delays was supplier quality problems related to a critical component in the forward fuselage assembly that ensures safety of flight.
It’s unclear exactly what part of the forward fuselage was judged deficient, but there have been glitches encountered elsewhere, too. Specifically, a drilling tool used by Boeing had a “design error,” resulting in inaccurately drilled holes for the windscreen installation on the third through sixth F-15EX aircraft. Boeing has since fixed that problem but now needs to re-drill the holes on the affected aircraft before launching production of the Lot 2 aircraft. As a knock-on effect, the production start of Lot 2 has been delayed by two months.
Looking further ahead, the GAO identifies cybersecurity as the “primary risk” to the F-15EX program. The stated reason is that the Eagle II is derived from an export-configured aircraft, Foreign Military Sales aircraft are not designed to comply with the U.S. Air Force’s cybersecurity requirements.
www.thedrive.com
A combination of wrangling over the planned acquisition totals and production issues with the first batches of jets has pushed the timeline to the right.
The Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), responsible for administering contracts for the Pentagon, was “disapproving” of two of Boeing’s business management systems. No further details were provided in the report.
Lot 1B deliveries were due to start in December 2022, but were also hit by sixth-month delays. The GAO attributed these to “production-related issues.” The report explained further: “The primary driver of these delays was supplier quality problems related to a critical component in the forward fuselage assembly that ensures safety of flight.
It’s unclear exactly what part of the forward fuselage was judged deficient, but there have been glitches encountered elsewhere, too. Specifically, a drilling tool used by Boeing had a “design error,” resulting in inaccurately drilled holes for the windscreen installation on the third through sixth F-15EX aircraft. Boeing has since fixed that problem but now needs to re-drill the holes on the affected aircraft before launching production of the Lot 2 aircraft. As a knock-on effect, the production start of Lot 2 has been delayed by two months.
Looking further ahead, the GAO identifies cybersecurity as the “primary risk” to the F-15EX program. The stated reason is that the Eagle II is derived from an export-configured aircraft, Foreign Military Sales aircraft are not designed to comply with the U.S. Air Force’s cybersecurity requirements.
This Is Why F-15EX Deliveries Have Been Delayed
Manufacturing issues and uncertainties over production quantities explain why the Air Force has only received two of the jets to date.
www.thedrive.com