Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) has sent Boeing a letter expressing his “disappointment” about company comments recently that he interpreted as disparaging of Mobile, Ala., reports George Talbot of the Press-Register. Mobile is the site of rival Northrop Grumman’s proposed KC-30 tanker production facility. Shelby called upon Boeing to “disavow the offensive remarks about Mobile” and “Alabama’s highly qualified workforce.” A Boeing spokesman told the newspaper that its comments focused on the “technical and schedule risk” inherent in starting up any new production plant, compared to ones that have years of operation, such as the Boeing lines in Everett, Wash., and Wichita, Kan. Both companies touted their contenders for the KC-X tanker replacement program during AFA’s recent 2007 Air & Space Conference in Washington.
The Air Force wants to pump more than $12 billion over the next five years into its new affordable long-range missiles program and recently asked industry to push the flights of some of those munitions beyond 1,200 miles.