Free Republic

Jan. 17th was a special day for the KC-10 Extender community. It marked the day KC-10s, aircrews and maintainers have been on continuous deployment for 20 years -- 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year -- to Southwest Asia in support of combat operations. Facts show the KC-10 will pass a second milestone in March: 30 years of operational service. The KC-10 first entered the Air Force inventory in 1981 and was assigned to Strategic Air Command, or SAC. It remained a SAC asset until 1992 when it was reassigned to the then newly created...

The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. will win the U.S. Air Force tanker contract over rival Boeing Co., according to a leading defense analyst. Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Va., said EADS has emerged as the clear favorite for the coveted deal, based on the Air Force's internal analysis of the two competing bids. "Boeing has lost this competition," Thompson said, citing conversations with Boeing executives. "The only question now is whether they choose to protest the award, and I'm not sure they will."

After an Air Force mix-up sent Boeing and EADS computer disks with crucial data on each other's bid for the air-refueling tanker contract, Boeing initially was left at a disadvantage, contrary to previous reports. The Air Force then had to scramble to level the playing field in the $40 billion competition. When Boeing tanker-team officials got the errant disk last month, they recognized from the labeling that the disk was intended for EADS, and did not open it. But their EADS counterparts did open the disk they received and looked at a spreadsheet of data on the mission performance of...

The last new KC-135 Stratotanker was delivered to the U.S. Air Force in 1964. After nearly a decade of war, the fleet’s age is showing, most profoundly to the men and women on the ground who keep the 415 tankers flying. Two wars, political bickering, shady dealings and Air Force missteps have delayed the development of a new airborne refueling tanker for much of the past decade. In the meantime, airmen are left to keep this Eisenhower-era granddaddy of the fleet mission-ready, an increasingly difficult and expensive task. “How many cars do you see driving from 1956?” asked Staff Sgt....

Boeing’s biggest supporters roared out of the gate Tuesday after the World Trade Organization issued a final ruling that Airbus enjoyed unfair subsidies from European governments. “Enough is enough. For too long, workers in Washington state have had to fight an uphill battle. Instead of competing just with Airbus, they’ve been forced to compete with the deep pockets of European governments that supply Airbus with illegal launch aid,” Sen. Patty Murray of Washington said in a statement. Then she aimed straight at the tanker competition. “It’s clear that the A330, the very plane Airbus would offer our military, has received...

As part of efforts to enhance their military-to-military cooperation, Pakistani and US air force personnel participated in a joint aerial refueling information exchange programme at a Pakistani airbase. US Air Force pilots and aircrew from the 22nd Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron, currently deployed in Kyrgyzstan, arrived at the Chaklala airbase on Wednesday to conduct the information exchange with the Pakistan Air Force. The US invited Pakistani pilots and aircrew aboard their KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft to familiarise them with air refuelling equipment and procedures. Vice Admiral Michael LeFever, senior US Defence Representative to Pakistan, hosted Air Commodore Tahir Ranjha, PAF's Air...

Global defense firm Northrop Grumman Corp. will compete against the Boeing Co. for a multi-billion-dollar Air Force contract that could bring thousands of jobs to San Diego during several decades. ...Northrop is proposing a KC-30 Advanced Multi-Role Tanker Transport for air refueling, and cargo and passenger transport that is based on the A330 commercial aircraft made of lightweight composites.