The Pentagon’s top acquisition official, Ken Krieg, says he’ll “withhold judgment” until he’s had a chance to read the Government Accountability Office criticism that the Air Force didn’t fill all the squares in citing a preference for a hybrid tanker-cargo hauler in its KC-X competition. However, he left no doubt during a press conference March 15 that he believes the bean counters missed the big picture. Krieg noted that the Mobility Capability Study offered a “pretty extensive look” at mobility, concluding that “if the price was right for doors and floors,” that the agility of a tanker also being able to haul people and cargo in a sustaining operation “made a lot of sense inherently and analytically.”
The Air Force is planning to spend $2.19 billion over the next five years to acquire new C-37 jets for transporting military and civilian leaders. That’s on top of another $1.17 billion in projected funding for the VC-25B “Air Force One” replacement.