James Bell, Boeing’s chief financial officer, recently cast doubt on whether the Boeing 767 will be the company’s entrant in the anticipated tanker replacement competition. He said this not because it couldn’t do the job, but because he thinks it’s possible the Pentagon may change the requirements. Bell told the Seattle Times that he would expect the company’s 767 to win a tanker competition if the specifications remain fairly true to USAF’s previously identified criteria. If not, he said, “we will respond with a different platform.” He did not disclose what that might be.
The U.S. military is carrying out intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions along the southern border and off the coast of Mexico using U.S. Air Force RC-135 Rivet Joint and U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon aircraft as part of the Pentagon’s effort to secure the southern border at the direction of President…