A Pentagon spokesman, Bryan Whitman, told Reuters news service Thursday that the Pentagon might entertain “reasonable extensions” in the KC-X tanker bid process “if necessary.” There has been some speculation that EADS might request such an extension to enter the competition sans Northrop Grumman, which withdrew the Northrop-EADS team from the bidding process earlier this month. However, Whitman said the Pentagon hasn’t received an extension request. Louis Gallois, EADS CEO, told reporters in New York earlier on Thursday that the existing 60-day timeframe for response to the request for proposals, makes it “impossible for anybody, even for Lockheed Martin, to build a solution,” according to a Bloomberg news service report (via Business Week).
The Pentagon is considering ditching the Air Force’s plan to buy the E-7 Wedgetail as it looks to outsource the airborne target-tracking mission to space, defense officials indicated this week.