Gen. Michael 
Moseley, new Air Force Chief of Staff, says the current analysis of alternatives for a replacement tanker aircraft offers “options across the board” for this new refueler. They comprise concepts ranging from re-engining old aircraft to new procurement, from big aerial tanks to medium-sized tankers. He has not publicly discussed his view of what the best solution might be. He does say there probably is no one who would disagree that “the key to global mobility, global intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance, and global strike—on the air breathing side—is the tanker.”
The $4.26 billion Small Business Innovation Research contracting program widely used by the Air Force went into hibernation as the government shut down Oct. 1, but unless lawmakers strike a deal on reforms, the program could reach an abrupt end.
