Only two weeks after the Air Force issued the initial request for proposals for its CSAR-X combat search and rescue aircraft program, one of the strongest potential competitors—the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor—is out. The reason? The aircraft is overqualified. Boeing has decided the V-22’s speed and range take it beyond the CSAR-X requirements. The Boeing-Bell team still plans to compete a variant of the H-47 helicopter. (DR, 10/18/05)
House lawmakers are moving to keep the Air Force’s E-7 Wedgetail development program alive after the Pentagon announced plans to wind it down in the coming years.