The acquisition strategy for the KC-X tanker “hasn’t changed” and will not suddenly permit a two-contractor approach, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz told defense reporters Tuesday in Washington, D.C. The plan is to acquire 179 aircraft from a single contractor because that’s all the Air Force can afford, said Schwartz. The minimum economic order quantity on tankers would be 24 a year with two contractors, but the Air Force can only afford to buy about 15 annually, he said. Moreover, “Why should I have two separate support . . . and training requirements, if I can avoid that?” he asked.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach told lawmakers Apr. 30 that the service’s biggest airlifter, the C-5 Galaxy, has a 37 percent mission capable rate—one of several challenges facing the mobility fleet.