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.
The Pentagon is counting on Congress to navigate a legislative tightrope and pass a party-line bill to fund nearly a quarter of its $1.5 trillion budget request for fiscal 2027, including billions of dollars for top priorities like Golden Dome, the F-35, munitions, and unmanned systems. Experts and lawmakers from…