Relax, in case of emergency US Air Force could rent about 14 tanker from http://www.airtanker.co.uk/. That’s about one-fourth of KC-10 capacity. Also another 5 are already available from Australia. Saudi Arabia or UAE may also supply some tanker aid.
What’s the problem with not having the latest tanker? The US tanker being late? Boeing said the program is on track. Last time I heard that the program was called 787. The F-35 is also late. So what?
I just remember from a few years ago the Air Force was screaming for a new tanker because they can’t slap any more bandaids on the 135 fleet, and the KC-10’s are aging fast too.
Then there was the lease 100 tankers from Boeing scandal....
Then they finally had a competition based on what the Air Force wanted in a tanker.... That got spiked after Boeing’s unions went to daddy barry, and various congress critters they carry around in their pocket crying foul because Northrup Grumman/EADS won.
Then they had a new competition with the requirements taylored in such a way that the NG/EADS jet was all but ruled out, thus giving Boeing the contract.
Boeing said that they had a viable design, ready for production and yet today it’s still “flying” around the art department.
IF the Air Force was allowed to follow through with Northrup Grumman, they’d already have a few in the fleet if not doing various flight testing by now.
Boeing never offered the 787 as a tanker to the Air Force, it was just a version of the 767-200LRF, with wings, gear, cargo door and floor off the 300F, flaps off the 400ER, uprated engines, and flight displays off the 787.