Boeing spokesman Dan Beck, giving an account of how his company handled the recent inadvertent disclosure of a KC-X efficiency analysis meant only for Air Force eyes, said team members “train for these situations.” When the filename “K30B” popped up on an Air Force disc—the KC-30 is EADS’ tanker design—two Boeing employees removed the disc and “locked it in a tamper-proof safe without opening any files or viewing any data,” he said. They then alerted managers and “sealed the safe in the presence of a Boeing security officer,” he explained, They then called Air Force officials, who gave instructions “that were followed,” he continued. EADS North America chief Sean O’Keefe told reporters late last week that his employees likewise “immediately” packed up the errant data and returned it to the Air Force.
The emphasis on speed in the Pentagon’s newly unveiled slate of acquisition reforms may come with increased near-term cost increases, analysts say. But according to U.S. defense officials, the new weapons-buying construct provides the military with enough flexibility to prevent runaway budget overruns in major programs.
