Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne reports that he’s hopeful that World Trade Organization issues swirling around the aerial tanker competition will all be resolved by the time a contract is awarded next summer. Subsidy issues with European aircraft—affecting the Northrop Grumman-EADS tanker offer—surfaced in the draft request for proposals. Wynne acknowledged the issue could “derail” a timely tanker award.
The KC-Z4, a blended wing body tanker concept being developed by startup JetZero, could fuel larger groups of aircraft at longer range to hold more targets at risk, company officials say.