Boeing to roll out first KC-767 tanker

Boeing chief executive Harry Stonecipher will be in Wichita on Feb. 24 to celebrate the rollout of the first KC-767 aerial refueling tanker for the Italian Air Force.

Stonecipher will be joined by its Italian customer and Jim Albaugh, head of Boeing's defense business, at the Boeing-Wichita Development and Modification Center.

The rollout marks the completion of essential structural work to the aircraft for flight and testing certification.

The tanker is the first of four being built for the Italian Air Force. It's scheduled to be delivered in April 2006.

Report: McCain may want Boeing to repay money from Tanker deal - 11/19/2004 - St. Louis Biz Journal
U.S. Sen. John McCain may seek to have the Boeing Co. repay some money it obtained in the 767 Tanker contract abuses by former executive Darleen Druyun. Reuters reported that McCain (R-Ariz.) said in a Senate floor speech Friday that he would "find out how much money we can reclaim if necessary on behalf of taxpayers," after it was found Boeing got preferential treatment in getting the contract because of Druyun's position as a former Air Force weapons buyer.....Michael Sears, former president of McDonnell Douglas Aerospace in St. Louis, pleaded guilty Nov. 15 to hiring Druyun, who admitted giving preferential treatment to Boeing on the 767 Tanker contract. Druyun was recently sentenced to nine months in prison.[/snip]

Not if John McCain has his way...his (misguided) belief that the proposed KC-767 lease is a major scandal has essentially put the project on hold. The "actual" scandal was relatively minor; the civilian who oversaw procurement for the USAF agreed to favor Boeing in exchange for a job for herself (after retiring from civil service), and continued employment for her daughter and son-in-law. The former procurement official was convicted and is now serving a 9-month prison sentence. To date, there is no evidence that any other Air Force officials were invovled.

Unfortunately, McCain never lets the facts get in the way of his hunches. He seems to believe that the entire senior leadership of the USAF was involved, and has already forced the retirment of the former Secretary of the Air Force, Dr. Jim Roche, and torpedoed the nomination of General Greg Martin as the new commander of U.S. Pacific Command. Their crimes? In the case of Martin, a tertiary association with the former procurement official, and for Dr. Roche, refusing to turn over literally millions of e-mails that relate to the tanker release, according to McCain. By any other defintion, it's nothing more than a fishing expedition.

While the media champions Senator McCain's "crusade," his petulance is actually impacting national security. Dr. Roche was one of the best Air Force secretaries in years, and President Bush had actually nominated him to become the next Secretary of the Army. After the less-than-inspired leadership of former Chief of Staff Eric Shinseki and Army Secretart Togo West, the Department of the Army is in need of effective leadership.

General Martin's aborted nomination (he withdrew his name for the PACOM job four months ago) is another serious blow, IMO. As the Pacific heats up, both President Bush and Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld wanted someone who could transform our miltary forces in that region, and get away from the Navy "where are the carriers" mentality that pervades that command. General Martin was the right man for that job, but now, he'll never have the chance, thanks to the petty tirades of John McCain. I always find it interesting that none of the stories on McCain and his crusade against General Martin mention the fact that his father was CINCPAC in the early 1970s, and the withdrawal of Martin's nomination means that PACOM remains a Navy domain--something the Annapolis ring-knockers are very happy about.

Not if John McCain has his way...his (misguided) belief that the proposed KC-767 lease is a major scandal has essentially put the project on hold.

Considering the 787 will be coming online fairly soon, could it be better to get a tanker version of it than the 767? The 767 will be discontinued not long after the 787 starts production. If we're talking about aircraft that will be used by the USAF for 50-60 years, isn't it better to get some at the beginning of the production run? That way it doesn't outlive the industrial base that produces its parts. The air force doesn't put so many hours on their airframes the way commercial operators do; that's why their transport aircraft last longer in service. Also, the composites used in the 787 won't be susceptable to corrosion the way the aluminum in the KC-135 was and the KC-767 will be.

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