Depending on which account you believe, the tanker AOA says the Pentagon should consider its ever-tightening budget because there is no reason to rush into procuring a KC-135 replacement, or it says the opposite. Government Executive notes a “government source” that said that the AOA supports the view that airframe corrosion is not a pressing issue, so there’s no reason to push tankers ahead of competing budget interests. On the other hand, Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), who was at a briefing for lawmakers, quotes the study as saying that “factors other than economic concerns should drive the acquisition schedule for tanker recapitalization.” Dicks has been dismayed by the time it took to produce the AOA. He notes that $100 million Congress appropriated in 2003 is still available to kick off a replacement program.
In a dramatic flare-up in the hostilities between the U.S. and Iran, American forces struck and destroyed five Iranian oil tankers Sept. 8, U.S. Central Command said. Iran retaliated by lobbing ballistic missiles toward a major U.S. base in Jordan, according to Iranian state media.
