Air Force says vigilant on Boeing tanker program

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force on Tuesday said it was optimistic about Boeing Co's work on the new $51.7 billion KC-46 refueling tanker program but remained vigilant about possible problems even as officials were examining an initial possible export request.

"I think we're in a good place right now," Major General John Thompson, who oversees the Boeing tanker program as well the older KC-135 and KC-10 tanker programs, told reporters at the Air Force Association annual conference.

Thompson, who started his job five weeks ago, said the financial, program and schedule risks on the program were all normal for this stage of a development program, and both Boeing and the Air Force had good people on it.

But he said there was more hard work to do to ensure that the program was able to reach a critical design review by the end of fiscal year 2013. He said his attitude was "to be optimistic, but vigilant."

Thompson said Singapore had requested information about the possible export of the KC-46 tanker earlier this summer. That request was now being addressed, he said.

He said he was concerned that a 9.4 percent across-the-board budget cut slated to take effect on January 2 could force him to renegotiate the fixed-price contract, raising the possibility that he would get less attractive terms from Boeing.

"If I have to break my fixed-price contract I stand the potential to lose out," Thompson said, describing the current terms of the contract as "a really good deal."

Major General Wayne Schatz, director of strategic plans, requirements and programs, said Air Force Mobility Command was beginning early work on the next phase of replacing the Air Force's aging fleet of tankers, and would have to make some initial decisions in about two years.

One possible option, he said, might be to buy more of the KC-46 tankers that Boeing is now designing. The last of the 179 tankers now planned for purchase from Boeing is due to be delivered in 2028, he said.

That may be disappointing news for Europe's EADS , which is hoping to compete for future tanker orders after losing the tanker contract to Boeing in February 2011. The order capped a decade of failed Air Force attempts to start replacing its Kc-135 tankers, which are about 49 years old on average.

One Air Force official familiar with the tanker program said the Pentagon might have to increase its projected cost for the program at completion because Boeing burning through its management reserve at an accelerated rate over the past six months. That issue was still being assessed and studied, the official said.

No comment was immediately available from Boeing on the issue.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Bob Burgdorfer)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/air-force-says-vigilant-boeing-tanker-program-000256441--finance.html

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