Northrop Grumman upped the pressure, potentially one last time, in the Air Force’s high-stakes KC-X tanker competition, as Northrop President Wes Bush told Pentagon acquisition executive Ashton Carter Tuesday that, “absent a responsive set of changes” in the solicitation, his company will not be submitting a bid, according to press reports. Reuters news wire service reported that, in a letter dated Dec. 1, Bush writes Carter that it doesn’t appear that Northrop’s concerns with the draft request for proposals, such as the RFP’s “clear preference” for smaller aircraft—ostensibly giving rival Boeing’s KC-767 design the advantage—will be addressed by the time the final version of the tanker solicitation is issued, based on the Pentagon’s feedback thus far. As a result, Northrop “cannot proceed” to submit a bid, Bush wrote Carter, according to Reuters. (For more, read The Hill’s report and the Press-Register’s report.)
How Miss America 2024 Took the Air Force Somewhere New
Dec. 20, 2024
When 2nd Lt. Madison Marsh became the first ever active service member crowned Miss America on Jan. 14, top Air Force officials recognized a rare opportunity to reach women and girls who otherwise might not consider military service as an option.