Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday told airmen in Southwest Asia that the Pentagon will be no slouch when it comes to negotiating a contract with Boeing for a new aerial refueling aircraft, according to press reports. “We will certainly be sharpening our pencil,” Gates told members of the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing during a townhall meeting at an air base in the war theater. Northrop withdrew from the Air Force’s KC-X tanker competition on Monday, leaving Boeing as the sole company left to bid. The company intends to offer its NewGen Tanker model. Gates said he was disappointed that Northrop left. “I wish that we had had a competition,” he said. But there’s no reason why Northrop’s move should add further delays to the KC-X program, he said. (AFPS report by Jim Garamone) (See also AFP’s report)
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.