Le Bourget, France —The Air Force expects to move out shortly on its Common Vertical Lift Support Platform helicopter replacement effort, David Van Buren, USAF acquisition executive, said here Tuesday at the Paris Air Show. He noted that there are many potential competitors for the program, and told the international audience that they should be heartened by the fact that the Air Force is willing to look at foreign offerings, as it did on the KC-X tanker program and with the C-27J transport. Likewise, a request for proposal for a new rescue helicopter will go out in 2012, and Van Buren expects the contract award for that platform in 2013.
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.