In his European Perspective column, Pierre Sparaco refers to the so-far unsuccessful effort to launch a program to replace the U.S. Air Force KC-135 tanker transport (AW&ST Oct. 19, p. 66). He also cites why this effort will continue to be fraught with disputes, so no one can tell when, if ever, the Air Force will receive new tankers. Sparaco concludes that "a spirt buy would seem to be the only workable solution." But there is another solution: Cancel the KC-X procurement and commit to retain, maintain and upgrade the KC-135 until requirements and/or technology support a replacement that is not a derivative of a large airliner.
展开▼
