Government and industry employees converged in Dayton, Ohio, this week to discuss the ins and outs of the pending KC-X tanker competition. It was also an opportunity, says Teresa Rendon of the small business office at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, for small businesses to find out how they might engage in the tanker replacement program. Officials with the 653rd Aeronautical Systems Squadron at Wright-Patt expect the Air Force to purchase 179 replacement aircraft over a 15-year period—beginning in 2010—at a cost of around $20 billion.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.