According to Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the Pentagon may make changes to the KC-X tanker competition, reports Reuters news service. Pentagon officials talked with Sessions and others Wednesday, and Sessions reported, “They said it’s not true their mind is made up.” Air Force Secretary Michael Donley had just days earlier reiterated the Pentagon stance that the draft request for proposals requirements were “very strong,” saying he doubted there would be major changes. And, that may be the difference in viewpoint. Reuters reported, too, that Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn acknowledged possible revisions to the RFP before USAF issues the final next month. The Northrop Grumman-EADS team, which would build its tanker in Alabama, has threatened to pull out if the RFP doesn’t change.
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.