The Associated Press is reporting that the Office of the Secretary of Defense, not the Air Force, will oversee a rebid of the long and storied Air Force tanker competition, citing Congressional sources.
The plan, which hands control to the Pentagon’s top acquisition chief
and sets up a dedicated source-selection committee, indicates that
senior civilians at the Defense Department have lost confidence in the
Air Force’s ability to manage the contract.
The $35 billion KC-45A refueling contract will again pit the Northrop Grumman/EADS against Boeing. Reports have yet to indicate if Boeing is again offering the KC-767, though an expedited acquisition process would indicate Boeing is likely to offer the 767 as the platform for the KC-45A instead of the larger 777 or even 787.
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This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.