Some news reports may cite Air Force officials as saying the KC-X tanker program decision could be delayed beyond February. However, our man on the scene during a Thursday media session at the Pentagon said the Air Force acquisition officials were pressed into affirming an open “is it possible” question. The Air Force has said it wants to be very deliberate in their efforts here, mindful of the almost inevitable protest from the losing party. The Air Force wants to get on with the program—KC-135s aren’t getting any younger—but Lt. Gen. Donald Hoffman, USAF’s top military acquisition official, said the service would take the time to get the “right answer.”
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.