The Air Force reportedly is going to delay making a decision in the KC-X tanker replacement program until the end of February. Service officials had been shooting for a contract award at the end of this year, but just last month word came that it might be January. Now, staffers for Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) have told WKRG in Mobile that the decision won’t come until Feb. 29. Just last week five governors banned together to urge President Bush to consider the beneficial effect a tanker production facility in Mobile would have on the Katrina-strapped region.
Bell Textron has won DARPA's contest for a no-runway, high-speed drone that will prove out technologies useful for special operations forces and possibly the Air Force's Agile Combat Employment concept. Bell's design converts a tiltrotor to a jet-powered aircraft able to fly at up to 450 knots.