Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne said in a press conference Monday at AFA’s Air & Space Conference in Washington that, when the service awards a contract for tankers next July, it will be to one, not two companies. USAF had considered carrying two contractors forward and then competing annual buys, but Wynne told reporters that the Air Force is “constrained” in its funding and simply can’t afford two types, at least, not in the first increment. However, he added that it will take at least 20 years to recapitalize the tanker fleet, so there will be ample time to consider other aircraft. Wynne’s final word, though, was that the initial program needs “to get moving.”
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
