USAF new Tanker decision delayed

[Bluehawk]

This is irritating, and potentially dangerous.

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DoD Kicks Tanker Decision to Next Administration - Defense News
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"U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has opted to leave the tanker decision, including the parameters of competition, up to the next administration, Pentagon officials said.

THE BOEING KC-767, top, and the Northrop Grumman/EADS KC-30 have been candidates to be the new U.S. Air Force tanker. (Photos courtesy of Boeing and Northrop Grumman/EADS.)
The Pentagon told bidders Boeing and Northrop Grumman this morning that it was "terminating the current competition for a U.S. Air Force airborne tanker replacement," according to a Sept. 10 press release.

"Secretary Gates, in consultation with senior Defense and Air Force officials, has determined that the solicitation and award cannot be accomplished by January," the release said. "Rather than hand the next Administration an incomplete and possibly contested process, Secretary Gates decided that the best course of action is to provide the next Administration with full flexibility regarding the requirements, evaluation criteria and the appropriate allocation of defense budget to this mission."

In the statement, Gates said, "Over the past seven years the process has become enormously complex and emotional - in no small part because of mistakes and missteps along the way by the Department of Defense. It is my judgment that in the time remaining to us, we can no longer complete a competition that would be viewed as fair and objective in this highly charged environment. The resulting 'cooling off' period will allow the next Administration to review objectively the military requirements and craft a new acquisition strategy for the KC-X."

The statement said DoD officials had determined that the Air Force's current KC-135s "can be adequately maintained to satisfy Air Force missions for the near future. Sufficient funds will be recommended in the FY09 and follow-on budgets to maintain the KC-135 at high-mission capable rates."

Boeing holds the main maintenance contract for the KC-135s.

Before Gates could even break the news to the House Armed Services Committee at 10 a.m., Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., issued a statement accusing the Pentagon of putting politics ahead of the needs of pilots. Alabama is where Northrop Grumman-EADS planned to build their planes.

Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., released this statement: "The decision by the Secretary of Defense to cancel the current KC-X tanker program is a win for America's taxpayers. I've long had concerns regarding the process used to develop the requirements for the tanker program."

The Office of the Secretary of Defense took over the competition for the $35 billion Air Force program earlier this year after Boeing protested the February award to the Northrop Grumman/EADS team. With presidential elections nearing, OSD had pushed for speed, with competitors expected to submit their final offers by the last week of December and a Pentagon award before the Jan. 20 start of a new presidential administration.

That was an aggressive timeline - too aggressive, Gates and his team ultimately decided.

"The problem the government faces at this point is that there's no time left to do a normal competition," Loren Thompson, of the Lexington Institute, said last week.

Moreover, Boeing had threatened to pull out unless the deadline was extended by four months.

The first round of the tanker debacle - a 2001 plan for the Pentagon to lease 100 Boeing 767-derived tankers at a cost of $20 billion over 10 years - was ultimately scrapped by Congress in 2003.

The Air Force awarded the 179-plane deal to Northrop and Airbus parent EADS on Feb. 29. But a protest from Boeing froze the deal and was subsequently upheld by the Government Accountability Office.

Among other problems, GAO concluded, the Air Force gave "extra credit" to Northrop's larger plane because it can carry more fuel even though the service did not say size would be a factor."