Congress today will resume its debate about which airplane should replace the U.S. Air Force’s aging fleet of aerial refueling tankers.
The House appropriations committee will discuss the $35 billion tanker contract when it reviews the 2010 defense spending bill during a hearing this morning. House appropriators have written legislation that allows the Air Force to buy up to 36 tankers annually. That’s a faster pace for replacing tankers than what the Pentagon had planned at up to 15 tankers each year.
The Air Force has made two attempts at retiring its KC-135 fleet. In the last round, the Boeing Co. lost out to Northrop Grumman and its partner, EADS. The Pentagon called off the deal when auditors found flaws in the process.
The Pentagon said last week that it could release a request for proposals for the tanker as late as this fall rather than mid-summer as previously announced. The Air Force contract could come at a time when aircraft production has slowed, making it a significant contract for Boeing or Northrop and EADS.
Rep. John Murtha, D-Penn., who serves as chairman of the House subcommittee, has favored splitting the contract to avoid further protests, but Defense Secretary Robert Gates opposes a dual award. Language in the spending bill allows the Pentagon either to split the contract or to award it to a sole source. However, the bill, as written, requires final assembly of the next tanker to take place in the United States.
Boeing offered a tanker based on its commercial 767 jet, assembled in Everett, during the last round. Northrop and EADS offered a tanker based off of Airbus’ A330. The duo’s tanker would have been assembled in Alabama.
Budget hearing Webcast
6 a.m. PST today, http://appropriations.house.gov
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