But Agrees 'Cooling-Off' Period Was Needed

Acting US Air Force Secretary Michael Donley is frustrated that after seven years, there's still no replacement in the pipeline for the service's half-century-old KC-135 aerial tankers.

The Associated Press reports Donley told the Air Force Association's annual conference Monday the latest failed attempt to award the $35 billion contract was "a missed opportunity."

Donley agrees that a "cooling-off period" called by Defense Secretary Robert Gates -- postponing the third attempt to bid the contract until the next administration takes office in January -- was needed. But, he adds, the Air Force needs to make its acquisition process more capable of handling complex technological programs, and fend off the growing number of protests filed by losing bidders.

"None of us can yet answer the question, 'Where do we go from here?'" Donley said. "This experience has not been a healthy one for the Air Force, or for the (Department of Defense) or for the contractors or for our working relationship with each other or Congress."

General Norton Schwartz, the new Air Force chief of staff, told reporters Monday that awarding a new contract will take between eight months and four years, but insisted, "It's not dead."

FMI: www.pentagon.mil