Key House defense appropriator Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) has decided he cannot force language into the Fiscal 2009 war supplemental to direct the Pentagon to work a dual buy for USAF’s KC-X tanker program, but he does plan to pursue the hot topic in the Fiscal 2010 defense legislation, according to a May 1 report by the Press-Register. Murtha, other lawmakers, and many defense analysts support a dual-buy approach, despite continued Pentagon resistance, as the only sure-fire means to quickly field the new aerial refueling aircraft so vital to the US military. A spokesman for Murtha said the Congressman “remains committed to working out a plan that gets tankers in the air faster.” Pentagon boss Robert Gates has said a deal that would buy two tankers—a Boeing version and a Northrop Grumman version—would be too expensive. However, supporters of a dual-buy approach question his numbers and some question the Pentagon’s grasp of the potential catastrophe should the elderly KC-135s fail.
The Air Force is on track to reach its annual goal of graduating 1,500 new pilots that had proved elusive to this point, one year after the service launched a sweeping overhaul of its undergraduate pilot training program, Air Education and Training Command said Sept. 14.
