2 Reports Raise Doubts on Boeing Tanker Deal
Two more Pentagon reports have raised questions about a $23.5-billion Air Force plan to lease and buy 100 Boeing Co. 767s for use as aerial refueling tankers, sources familiar with the reports said, a development that could prompt Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to scuttle the deal.
The Defense Science Board, a Pentagon advisory board, and the National Defense University have finished separate reviews on the deal -- reports that Rumsfeld said he needed to see before making a decision.
The sources said defense officials expected Rumsfeld to scrap the tanker lease plan and order a formal analysis of alternatives on how to modernize the Air Force’s aging fleet of KC-135s -- a review that could take a year to 18 months.
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