Since the first of the year, the Pentagon Inspector General has released three of eight reports of investigation into programs that may have been tainted by Darleen Druyun—the one-time Air Force acquisition official who served time in prison for violating ethics rules, principally for favoring Boeing on contract awards to secure a job for herself and relatives. One investigation reviewed the procurement of a new aircraft cargo loader—dubbed the Tunner by the Air Force—and found Druyun “influenced” the source of repair for the new loader, directing the work to Systems & Electronics Inc. The other two concerned the C-5 avionics modernization program and F-16 simulator services, in both of which the IG found that Druyun had favored Lockheed Martin.
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.