Split Tanker Buy Not Taking Off in Senate
By John M. Doyle
Despite a growing drumbeat from some lawmakers to split the $35 billion U.S. Air Force replacement refueling tanker contract between Boeing and Northrop Grumman/EADS, three key senators are not persuaded so far.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and E. Benjamin Nelson (D-Neb.) said they were not taking a position on the idea raised by two powerful subcommittee chairmen in the House.
Splitting the tanker buy, an idea which has been floating around for months, started picking up steam last month when Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), chairman of the House defense appropriations subcommittee, suggested it as a way to get around the political wrangling and procedural missteps that have delayed replacement of the Eisenhower-era KC-135 tankers (Aerospace DAILY, March 16).
Shortly after, Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii), chair of the House Armed Services Committee’s air and land forces panel, also spoke favorably of dual-sourcing for the replacement tanker fleet.
But Defense Secretary Robert Gates is adamant that a split purchase would be more expensive and burden the Air Force with two separate fleets requiring separate training, maintenance and logistics. Plus, existing tankers would still be flying during the transition period, complicating logistics further.
“I think I will pay attention to what Secretary Gates says,” Nelson said. “He’s in a better position to know what the impact of that decision [will be] more than almost anybody else I could think of.” Collins also wants to hear what Gates has to say “about that idea that’s contrary to the plan he’s put forth.”
“I’m going to withhold judgment until we get a recommendation from the Defense Department,” Levin said, adding that he wanted to avoid “saying anything or doing anything which would suggest a tilt in one direction or another.”
The Senate Appropriations Committee doesn’t plan to hold a separate hearing on the split tanker buy.
However, the issue “will be closely examined as Secretary Gates and Air Force officials” testify in coming weeks, a committee spokesman said last week. Meanwhile, EADS said it would probably bid on the tanker program again, even if the contract is split.
Photo: Boeing
