By Jen DiMascio
Lawmakers are calling on the Air Force to continue to oppose the idea of dividing between two contractors an award for its next-generation aerial refueling tankers.
Separate letters by members of the House and Senate call on Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne to set the record straight that the competition for the KC-X tanker is “winner take all.”
Boeing [BA] and a team comprised of Northrop Grumman [NOC] and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. are duking it out to become the winner of the competition to replace the service’s aging tankers. The deal is worth up to $40 billion over the next 15 years.
Senior Air Force officials are on the record as saying that splitting the purchase of tankers would add to the program’s cost and to its schedule. The tanker is the service’s top procurement priority and officials have continued to say they do not support a plan that would affect the tanker’s schedule (Defense Daily, Oct.1).
But recent news coverage and discussion on the Hill of the merits of splitting the purchase prompted lawmakers to reiterate their support for the current Air Force plan and ask the service to join them, according to House and Senate staff members.
The letter outlines the arguments against choosing two contractors for the job and singles out Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley and the service’s acquisition chief, Susan Payton, for praise.
“We strongly believe that competition for a single tanker replacement represents the most appropriate approach to recapitalizing the tanker fleet. Therefore, we strenuously oppose any attempt to change the current acquisition strategy to facilitate a dual procurement or “split-buy” approach,” the senators wrote. “We appreciate your efforts, and those of Assistant Secretary Payton and General T. Michael Moseley, in working to publicly set the record straight that the on-going KC-X Tanker competition is for one tanker, not two.”
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and 14 other senators, including Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), who led the Republican effort, signed the senate version dated Oct. 11. The House letter was spearheaded by Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) and signed by 24 other members on Oct. 10.
Murray and Dicks are Boeing stalwarts; the company plans to build its KC-767 version of the tanker in Everett, Wash.