Bob McCarty Writes

Under the headline, U.S. Air Force’s tanker fleet showing its age, writer Molly McMillin of the The Wichita (Kan.) Eagle shared a story Sunday about the Air Force’s aging fleet of KC-135 air refueling tankers and the $35 billion contract battle between Boeing and Northrop Grumman that has immense national security implications.

At the same time as her article evoked memories from my days as a young Air Force public affairs officer, it also stirred grave concerns about the future of our nation’s defense capabilities.

I spent most of my first two years in uniform — 1985 to 1987 — at Wichita’s McConnell Air Force Base.  Then part of Strategic Air Command, the base was home to the 384th Air Refueling Wing, a unit which provided inflight refueling support to Department of Defense aircraft around the world.

While assigned to McConnell, a great deal of my time was spent on work related to upgrading the 384th ARW’s fleet of KC-135A Stratotankers, some of which were more than 30 years old at the time.  The most-critical modification — retrofitting the modified Boeing 707s with larger, more fuel-efficient CFM-56 turbofan engines — resulted in the aircraft’s worldwide reach being extended by one-third.

Since my long-ago days at McConnell ended, the unit designations have changed and many more KC-135R aircraft have been assigned to McConnell and other bases around the world.  The aircraft, however, are more than 50 years old in many cases, and they’re working harder than ever in the skies above Iraq, Afghanistan and everywhere else U.S. aircraft fly.

Efforts to replace the aging fleet began several years ago but came to an abrupt end in July 2008 in a chain of events that went something like this:

• The Air Force announced it had awarded a contract to Northrop Grumman and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company to build a new fleet of tanker aircraft;

• Boeing protested;

• Serious national security concerns arose;

• Several military leaders called for a review of the the deal;

• The GAO ruled in Boeing’s favor; and

• The Air Force tanker competition began anew in July 2008.

Where does the tanker contract stand today?

Air Force Gen. Duncan J. McNabb, commander of U.S. Transportation Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee March 17 that acquiring a new fleet of Air Force tankers, known as KC-X until an airframe is chosen, is imperative, according to an American Forces Press Service article.

“My top priority remains the recapitalization of our aging tanker fleet,” General McNabb told the senators. “The KC-X will be a game-changer.”

During a Pentagon news conference May 7, Defense Comptroller Robert F. Hale said he hopes the pending Air Force aerial refueling tanker purchase will remain on pace for contract award by spring 2010.

Here’s to hoping General McNabb’s top priority — and Comptroller Hale’s hope — is also a top priority of Defense Secretary Robert Gates and President Barack Obama.  Our national security demands nothing less.