Chalk up the first delay in the new and improved KC-X tanker competition. A final request for proposals—taking into account input from the competitors and members of Congress—was to have been issued in December, but its anticipated release date is now in January. Pentagon spokeswoman Cheryl Irwin said Wednesday DOD “has been reviewing comments and questions submitted on the basis of the draft RFP.” It will issue the final RFP “when this process is completed, probably in January,” she said. A defense official told the Daily Report that the RFP’s targeted release date had been Dec. 16. But given slippage to that date and the fact that members of Congress won’t all be back from their holiday break until the President’s state of the union address, the RFP is likely to appear in late January, almost concurrently with the next defense budget request.
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.
