Gates Mulling Tanker Options

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said June 26 during a briefing with reporters he is working with John Young, head of his acquisition arm, and with new Acting Secretary Michael Donley to “figure out the right way forward” with the KC-X tanker program in light of the Government Accountability Office’s ruling earlier this month. “We clearly need to have an approach that has the confidence of the Congress and so we are looking at several options,” he said. Gates did not specifically say his office would be taking over the process, but he did imply that his office clearly will be more involved as his press secretary had said on the previous day. When asked if he still has confidence in the Air Force’s acquisition shop and Sue Payton, its head, he said, “I have confidence in the team until I see something to the contrary.” At the same time, Gates said the GAO’s ruling, which upheld Boeing’s legal protest of the February award of the $35 billion KC-X tanker contract to rival Northrop Grumman-EADS, “clearly pointed out some areas where we were deficient.” Questioned on his office's affirmation of the Air Force selection process, Gates said the protest ruling was “the first indication that there might have been some problems.” Later, he asserted that affirmation was based on “the views of the acquisition people.”

Others to Follow?

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) announced last week that the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that he chairs will hold a hearing on July 15 to delve into USAF’s action on the KC-X tanker award. (See above) Shortly after the...

Guard Continues California, Midwest Disaster Relief

As of June 27, about 2,300 Air and Army National Guard members remained on duty in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Wisconsin, assisting communities with flood relief. This number is down from the peak of 5,700 earlier this month, with the...

Hard Landing

The Air Force said the flight crew of a C-130 transport ferrying passengers had to make an emergency landing in a barren field northeast of Baghdad International Airport on June 27. Details were sketchy, but USAF said in a release...

USAF Buys More Cruise Missiles

The Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin a $107 million contract for the seventh production lot of the JASSM cruise missile, the company announced June 25. This lot covers 111 missiles, which brings USAF’s order to date to 1,053 missiles...

Berlin Airlift Remembered

The Air Force and its British, French, and German partners held a ceremony June 27 at the Berlin Airlift Memorial at Tempelhof airport in Berlin, Germany, to commemorate the 78 allied airmen who gave their lives during the 11-month operation,...

Standoff Jammer Work Goes Forward

The Air Force Research Lab has awarded Boeing a $14.9 million contract to mature standoff jamming technologies for the service’s core component jammer concept, the company announced June 27. Under the contract, which USAF first announced June 23, Boeing and...

Pilot Error Caused Strafing Accident

An F-16 pilot with the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill AFB, Utah, momentarily lost visual reference during a nighttime training exercise April 8 at the Utah Test and Training Range, causing him to mistakenly strafe two soldiers in a sport...

Taking it to the Enemy

B-1B bombers used 500-pound and 2,000-pound joint direct attack munitions to destroy enemy rocket positions and compounds near Uruzgan, Afghanistan, on June 27, Air Forces Central said in a release the following day. These strikes were part of the 47...

Tuskegee Airman Dies

Retired Lt. Col. Charles Dryden, 87, a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, died June 24 in Atlanta. He was one of the first Tuskegee pilots to lead airmen of the all-black 99th Fighter Squadron into battle against the Germans in...

Air Sorties From SWA(1)

Air Sorties in War on Terrorism, Southwest AsiaJune 26, 2008 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 25 11 36 5,394 CAS/Armed Recon 70 56 126 16,037 Airlift 138 138 22,423 Air refueling 60 60 7,548 Total 360 51,402...