First USAF Tanker Arrives in Dresden

Aviation Week ^ | 3/31/2008 | Amy Butler

[e_castillo]

“Why would they want to fly?”

I thought you were talking about USAF.

[irishtenor]

Well, I know there’s a couple in Japan...

[adorno]

The future is a long ways away and you apparently have no idea how many manned aircraft are in service and coming on line in the next decade.

When you consider the lifetime of a tanker, perhaps 40 to 50 years, and the lifetime of fighters and bombers, then perhaps the future is not so distant. By the time we're ready for the next wave of fighters and bombers, and if a large number of those aircraft were to be designed as pilot-less or as drones, then perhaps we won't have such a big need for so many tankers and such a heavy expenditures.

[tgusa]

Got it. Sorry!

[tgusa]

So I see. The first was delivered about a month ago, the second a couple of weeks later. I sit corrected.

[e_castillo]

This is just the first buy. 40 billion worth and most to a foreign company no less.

I'm hoping Boeing wins this one and the Taxpayer gets a sane decision.

[Oztrich Boy]

Where is Boeing’s tanker?

They are thinking about designing it.

[A.A. Cunningham]

Any idea how many F-35s the Air Force alone plans to purchase?