The Air Force late Friday issued a statement noting the service had released an updated request for proposals for the tanker replacement program, called KC-X. Air Force acquisition chief Sue Payton confirmed that USAF has delayed release of the final RFP until January, but she said the goal is still to complete source selection by Sept. 30, 2007. The release also reaffirmed that the KC-X is now the service’s top procurement priority.
Seeking to make life harder for a potential adversary like China, the Air Force wants more airfields in more locations, giving the service more freedom to operate in combat. But runways serve little purpose if they are damaged beyond use. The Air Force recently conducted a “beta test” to figure…