That is the sentiment expressed by Rep. Norman Dicks (D-Wash.) during a pep rally at the Boeing 767 plant in Everett, Wash., where Boeing would produce the airframes should it win the KC-X tanker replacement program contract. Dicks and other lawmakers on hand at the event favor the Boeing entrant in the competition over the Northrop Grumman-EADS aircraft that would be produced in Alabama. Roxana Tiron of The Hill newspaper reports that Dicks said that spreading the program over the next 40 years (see above) is “ridiculous.” We’re certain the Air Force would agree if it could find the money to move faster.
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.