Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne says that the Air Force expects an “imminent” release of a request for information from industry, followed by a request for proposals in September. Wynne, who was speaking at the 2006 spring policy-briefing luncheon hosted by the House Aerospace Caucus on Thursday, said, “We think that’s going to come very, very shortly.” He projected a contract award for mid-2007. Wynne noted that the $100 million provided by Congress in the 2006 budget will be used for tanker studies and the competition, adding, “It should be adequate to get us under way.”
The Air Force is launching an effort to develop a new stand-off missile with a range of 1,000 nautical miles, or 1,150 miles, that would eventually be used for both air-to-air and air-to-surface missions.