Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who has been one of the most vocal critics of Boeing and the Air Force over the failed tanker aircraft lease arrangement and other assorted programs linked to former USAF acquisition official Darleen Druyun, now appears to have accepted an ethics-reborn Boeing. At a Senate Armed Services hearing Monday to review the Justice Department’s $615 million settlement with Boeing, McCain lauded Boeing’s decision to refrain from taking tax deductions on the settlement, saying that decision coupled with the company’s internal ethics and management changes (read Boeing head James McNerney Jr. statement) demonstrate “how serious” Boeing is in “truly reforming and starting fresh.” Still, McCain did question some of the fine points of the settlement.
The Air Force has finished modifying and testing the new VC-25B Bridge aircraft that will serve as a temporary Air Force One, the service announced May 1. All that’s left now is to finish painting the jet before it starts flying this summer.