According to Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the Pentagon may make changes to the KC-X tanker competition, reports Reuters news service. Pentagon officials talked with Sessions and others Wednesday, and Sessions reported, “They said it’s not true their mind is made up.” Air Force Secretary Michael Donley had just days earlier reiterated the Pentagon stance that the draft request for proposals requirements were “very strong,” saying he doubted there would be major changes. And, that may be the difference in viewpoint. Reuters reported, too, that Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn acknowledged possible revisions to the RFP before USAF issues the final next month. The Northrop Grumman-EADS team, which would build its tanker in Alabama, has threatened to pull out if the RFP doesn’t change.
The Space Development Agency says it’s on track to issue its next batch of missile warning and tracking satellite contracts this month after those awards were delayed by the Pentagon’s decision to divert funds from the agency to pay troops during this fall’s prolonged government shutdown.
