Pentagon officials briefed the results of the oft-revised tanker analysis of alternatives on Capitol Hill on Jan. 26. The AOA concludes that USAF should replace its elderly KC-135s with one or more medium-to-large size commercial airframes, but it offers no timetable.
The emphasis on speed in the Pentagon’s newly unveiled slate of acquisition reforms may come with increased near-term cost increases, analysts say. But according to U.S. defense officials, the new weapons-buying construct provides the military with enough flexibility to prevent runaway budget overruns in major programs.
