Despite a slew of news reports to the contrary over the weekend quoting a US lawyer ostensibly representing Russia’s United Aircraft Company and an unidentified US contractor, there will be no Russian entrant in USAF’s KC-X tanker replacement program. RIA Novosti news service reported Monday that UAC issued a statement, saying the claims are “false.” Further, Alexey Fedorov, UAC president, said in the statement, “The UAC does not plan either to take part in this tender or set up a joint venture.”
If the Air Force is in line for a big budget bump from President Donald Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget in 2027, the head of Air Combat Command said he would make aircraft spare parts his top spending priority—but cautioned that more money to buy parts won’t equal a…


