Assuming the current legal protest is resolved by mid June, the Air Force expects that the first of its KC-45A tanker test aircraft will be available around June 2010, the general in charge of the US military’s transportation enterprise said May 27. Speaking during at an Air Force leadership forum May 27 in Philadelphia, host to this week’s many Air Force Week festivities, Air Force Gen. Norton Schwartz, commander of US Transportation Command, said, if this schedule holds, the tanker airframes for the first operational KC-45A squadron “will probably be delivered” in 2013. Boeing lodged a protest in March over the Air Force’s choice of the Northrop Grumman-EADS KC-30 model (now designated the KC-45A) instead of its own KC-767 to replace Eisenhower-era KC-135s. The Government Accountability Office is due to rule on the merits of Boeing’s case by June 19 (see below). The tanker issue isn’t the only issue of concern for TRANSCOM and the Air Force, Schwartz said. Just look at rising fuel costs. “The cost of fuel is well over $1 billion over our initial budget projections,” he said. As DOD explores alternative sources of energy, lighter-than-air technologies may well have a place, he said. (Air Force News Agency report by TSgt. Ben Gonzales)
US Space Command Should Always Be Led by a Guardian
Sept. 12, 2026
General Stephen Whiting took command of U.S. Space Command in January 2024, and if customary three-year tenures hold, his tour would end in January 2027. The question now before the President and Senate is who should follow him? Whoever they choose, it has to be a Guardian—and so should every successor…
