The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that the Air Force has raised the number of tanker aircraft it expects to buy initially as replacements for its elderly KC-135s from 100 to 189. The newspaper’s source is Ralph Crosby, chairman and chief executive of EADS North America, who said the number 189 surfaced about a week ago when Air Force officials briefed the Northrop-EADS team, which is offering the KC-30, on the program.
The U.S. military struck three Iranian oil tankers on Sept. 5, as the Trump administration and Iran battle for control over the Strait of Hormuz.
