Gates Resists Split Tanker, Lawmakers Urge
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By John M. Doyle and David A. Fulghum
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has not dropped his opposition to splitting the replacement refueling tanker procurement between Boeing and a Northrop Grumman-EADS team, a Pentagon spokesman said June 24.
“The secretary has been, and continues to be, opposed to a split buy,” said Geoff Morrell, adding, “It doesn’t matter what you call it, he believes in a sole-source provider.”
Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, said earlier in the day that he still thinks splitting the $35 billion program to replace the U.S. Air Force’s aging aerial refueling tankers is the best path to take because he fears the next competition will end in another protest and more delays.
Murtha told defense reporters he spoke with Gates June 23 about the fiscal 2010 defense spending bill he is preparing and offered Gates the option of giving the contract to one company. But Murtha also made his pitch to Gates that a split buy would “save substantial money down the road.” Murtha said the savings comes in part because two suppliers means turning out more airplanes faster — as many as three a month instead of the planned 12 a year — saving money on maintenance costs for the Eisenhower-era tankers flying now.
“Gates listened,” Murtha said, adding: “He was noncommital. [He didn’t say] he was against it.”
When reporters noted that Gates has been adamant about not wanting to incur the extra manufacturing, training and maintenance costs of having tankers from two different manufacturers, Murtha said: “I have a little hand-written list in my pocket … I got it from Gates yesterday. Those are what he says are the issues which he either can’t give in on, or that the White House has made a decision about. The tanker is not one of them.”
But Morrell insisted Gates wants only a single provider. In order for a split buy to work for the participating companies, the Defense Department would have to buy “more tankers up front than we had intended. That money to do so has got to come from somewhere else [in the budget],” he said. “It comes at a cost.”
Image: Boeing
