Tanker RFI 'very, very near,' Air Force leaders say

Published: Mar 30, 2006
Source: aimpoints.hq.af.mil



Leading Air Force officials told senators March 29 that they expect to get permission from the Pentagon's acquisition chief to issue a request for information for aerial refueling tankers "in the very, very near future," which will be followed by a request for proposals in September.

Secretary Michael Wynne and Gen. Michael Moseley, Air Force chief of staff, told the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee that because the leading contenders - the Boeing Co. and EADS - already field base aircraft, the Air Force expects first delivery within 24-36 months after the award (DAILY, March 2). The program would buy 15-20 tankers annually, they said.

Because swapping the fleet of new tankers with existing KC-135Rs will take about three decades, meaning some R variants will have to be sustained that long, the Air Force is eager to retire KC-135Es and move those crews into KC-135Rs. But to do so, the Air Force needs legislative relief to retire its 114 KC-135Es, of which 29 are already restricted from flight to some degree.continue..