The KC-46A tanker program may survive the sequester intact, without the need for a contract renegotiation, according to Air Mobility Command chief Gen. Paul Selva. Because the program is operating under a “firm fixed-price” development and design contract at this stage, the only reason the contract would come up for renegotiation is if the Air Force “literally run[s] out of money in the procurement lines,” Selva told reporters in a press conference at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Fla., on Thursday. “If there’s no flexibility in the sequester, it is possible we’ll have to reopen the contract, although we’ll do everything we can not to, because of the firm fixed-price nature of the contract,” he said. Reopening negotiations “would also subject us to a delay” in the delivery of the first four airplanes in 2017, “which could threaten the developmental test and evaluation part of the contract.” he said. At this point, Selva said, “my expectation is four airplanes on a fixed timeline.”
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
