The Air Force has decided to ignore the governmental subsidy issue before the World Trade Organization when USAF reviews proposals for its tanker replacement program, reports Reuters news service. Ken Miller, who is special assistant to the Air Force Secretary for acquisition governance and transparency, said Monday that whatever WTO decides, the outcome “will be neutral.” Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and various Alabama elected officials viewed the contentious issue as an attempt to eliminate the Northrop Grumman-EADS team from the tanker program in favor of Boeing.
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall doesn’t see great value in trying to break the Sentinel ICBM program off as a separate budget item the way the Navy has with its ballistic-missile submarine program, saying such a move wouldn’t create any new money for the Air Force to spend on other…