Aging Air Force Tankers: Flying in the Face of Danger

Mackenzie Eaglen / February 25, 2010

This week, the U.S. Air Force presented its revised request for proposals for the new KC-X tanker aircraft.  Industry now has 60 days to submit bids, and the contract for the new tankers should be awarded sometime this summer.

A new tanker is long overdue after a much-delayed and mismanaged process.

An AOL News story from earlier this week paints an alarming picture of the decrepit tanker fleet.  The KC-135 Stratotanker planes the Air Force flies today were built during the Eisenhower administration, and many are more than 50 years old.  AOL News describes how they often need to be grounded with leaks or broken parts, sometimes for weeks on end as Air Force engineers cannibalize old tankers in the “Boneyard” near Davis-Monthan Base in Arizona for spare parts or recreate them from scratch. (more…)