Jane Edwards
Leanne Caret, president and CEO of Boeing’s defense, space and security segment, told Military Times in a video interview aired Sunday that the company is going to deliver KC-46 aerial refueling tanker aircraft this year, citing several milestones.
“You’ve seen the completion of several very critical milestones that were the major gates towards enabling that delivery. One is the completion of our supplemental type certificate flight testing three weeks ago, which is really the backbone to getting the tanker fielded,†Caret told reporter Valerie Insinna.
She said the aerospace company is also in the process of concluding military type certificate flight testing for the KC-46 tanker program and continues to work with the U.S. Air Force on receiver certifications and enhanced software testing.
Caret, a 2018 Wash100 recipient, noted that foreign customers account for 37 percent of Boeing’s defense business and that KC-46 is one of the capabilities she thinks other countries intend to acquire.
She discussed the reorganization of Boeing’s defense business that led to the creation of the commercial derivatives division and cited the impact of the restructuring on the company.
