A U.S. Air Force official has warned that a continuing resolution could force the service branch to end its current contract with Boeing over the KC-46 tanker aircraft, Defense News reported Tuesday.
Brig. Gen. Duke Richardson, program executive on the Air Force’s KC-46 tanker program, said Boeing’s financial liability on the program’s development phase would likely end if the service branch fails to award production contracts due to the CR.
Aaron Mehta and Lara Seligman write the contract with Boeing requires the Air Force to award two contracts that would pave the way for the program’s low-rate initial production once Milestone C is achieved on the tanker by April 2016.
Richardson told Defense News a second LRIP contract is unlikely to be awarded under the CR because the budget plan for fiscal year 2016 only covers funding for the first LRIP contract, which calls for the production of seven tanker planes.
