Tanker News

Last week was certainly a tough one for the Air Force's tanker competition. Our competitors made the news by threatening to pull out of the competition, which has been widely publicized in a number of articles.

However, instead of issuing ultimatums like our competitors, Boeing continues to be focused on constructive engagement with the Air Force. In this spirit, we're publishing a number of short articles on our blog that cover key aspects of the tanker evaluation.

Last week, we published blogs covering the Integrated Fleet Aerial Refueling Assessment (IFARA), which is the process by which the Air Force estimates fleet effectiveness. We covered everything from the basics of what goes into the computer model the Air Force uses for IFARA, as well as how the model matches up with existing base resources and the new tanker's refueling, cargo and passenger missions. You can read these blog posts here: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.

And on Friday retired Air Force officer Stu Pugh, who formerly served as chief of Tanker Operations at the Tanker Airlift Control Center, returned to UnitedStatesTanker.com to offer additional thoughts on the tanker competition. Drawing from 26 years of active duty service, Mr. Pugh argues the importance of having as many tanker aircraft as possible on available ramp space, rather than fewer tankers with more individual fuel capacity, because it offers commanders greater operational flexibility, as he explains in this thoughtful analysis. We're honored to have the support of experienced warfighters like Mr. Pugh, who strongly endorses the KC-767.

You can read Mr. Pugh's comment on the importance of tanker size here.

These issues are the pivot points upon which the Air Force will make its decision in the tanker competition. We hope that these blogs help to shed more light on that process and help the Pentagon choose a tanker that delivers the most capabilities to warfighters at the lowest cost to taxpayers.

Check back at the blog this week as we continue the series.

Sincerely,

Bill Barksdale

Director of Communications

Global Mobility Systems

The Boeing Company

Integrated Defense Systems