U.S. Review Keeps Tanker Contest in Holding Pattern

The Defense Department said Tuesday that it would take two months to review a long-awaited Rand Corp. study on replacing the Air Force’s fleet of refueling tankers before making any decisions.

Pentagon spokeswoman Cheryl Irwin said that Rand delivered its report Monday and that the Pentagon’s program analysis and evaluation office would study it, postponing any decision on a fresh tanker competition until at least October.

The Alexandria, Va.-based Institute for Defense Analyses also will review the Rand study, the Defense Department said.

Congress last year killed a $23.5-billion Air Force plan to lease and buy 100 Boeing Co. 767s as tankers after former Air Force acquisition official Darleen Druyun admitted she accepted an inflated price as a “parting gift” to Boeing before leaving the Air Force and taking a $250,000-a-year job with the Chicago-based company.

Rand has been working on an analysis of the alternatives since late 2003, although the scope of the project has grown substantially under pressure from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who spearheaded scrutiny of the lease deal.

“It’s really important to make sure all the I’s are dotted and the Ts are crossed,” said Keith Ashdown at the government watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense. “There’s a sort of presumed guilt on anything that’s done.”

The future of any new tanker replacement program remains uncertain, given budgetary pressures on the military and especially the Air Force, which is also facing steep bills for its fighter jet programs.

The focus on tankers has also shifted, with Air Force officials saying the service needs to ensure the proper mix of smaller and larger tankers, which can carry more fuel and fly longer distances.

Air Force spokesman Doug Karas said the service still expected to initiate a tanker competition soon, with a contract due to be awarded in 2006.

The Boeing 767 and Airbus A330 are seen as likely candidates to replace the KC-135, but interest in larger tankers could shift the focus to other aircraft.