KC-X Saga Could Continue Well Into New Year

If you were looking for a speedy resolution to the ongoing saga of the US Air Force KC-X Tanker competition... don't bet on it. Comments made by a senior Air Force official Thursday indicate the issue may still be up in the air, so to speak, into spring 2008.

"We'll take whatever amount of time it takes to get to the right answer," top USAF acquisition officer Lt. Gen. Donald Hoffman told reporters Thursday, according to Reuters. "Sure, there's a reasonable chance" it will slip beyond the latest end-February target, he added.

The Air Force is looking to replace its aging fleet of KC-135 tankers with modern twinjets, based on either the Boeing 767 or Airbus A330 commercial airliners.

Boeing already had Congressional approval on a deal in 2003 to sell and lease 100 KC-767s to the Air Force for about $23.5 billion. But the deal was put on hold after Pentagon officials learned former USAF chief negotiator Darleen Druyun accepted a job as Boeing vice president before the deal was consummated. She later pleaded guilty to criminal charges.

Boeing fired both her and the man who hired her, Chief Financial Officer Michael Sears. Shortly after that, CEO Phil Condit abruptly resigned.

As it did in 2003, Boeing is fielding its KC-767 for the latest competition. A partnership between Northrop Grumman and EADS answered the challenge with the KC-30, a derivative of the Multi-Role Tanker Transport Aircraft. Both entities submitted bids on the contract in April 2007.

FMI: www.af.mil, www.boeing.com, www.northropgrumman.com/kc30/