Pentagon tanker study leaves time frame in air

WASHINGTON — After a year's wait, the Pentagon's study on options for replacing the Air Force's aging refueling tankers was presented in several closed briefings Thursday to select members of Congress.

The good news, said Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Bremerton, was that it focuses on adapting medium-to-large commercial planes, opening the door for Boeing and Airbus to compete for the Pentagon project.

But a new tanker contract could still be months away.

"The study made no definitive conclusions about the timing of the tanker replacement, because it was primarily an analysis of cost-effectiveness," said Dicks in a news release.

Researched largely by the Rand Corp., the Pentagon study narrowed the possibilities to six airframes: Boeing's 767, 777, 787 and 747, as well as the Airbus 330 and 340.

Dicks said it did not specifically suggest a combination tanker-cargo plane or a tanker-only aircraft.

The study, called the Analysis of Alternatives, recommends the Pentagon weigh other factors besides economics to determine how quickly to solicit bids, he said.

This was important, said Dicks, a member of the House Defense Appropriations Committee and a strong supporter of Boeing, which is crucial to his congressional district. The average age of the existing tankers is 45 years, he said.

The next step, expected in the spring, will likely be a request for information from Boeing and Airbus, the potential contractors.

"Given the age and the consequent reliability and maintenance challenges of the existing fleet, starting the replacement of these tankers as quickly as possible must be a priority for the Defense Department in the near future," Dicks said.

But in recent months, it has appeared the Pentagon and Congress, facing the need for budget cuts in purchasing large weapons systems, might be content to let the decision to begin the procurement slide into the next budget cycle, for fiscal year 2008.

The tanker analysis has been a closely guarded secret.

A draft analysis was prepared for release more than a year ago. But objections were raised in December 2004, before it was made public, by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

McCain had complained the Air Force was rushing a study that would support the U.S. government purchasing a new tanker fleet to replace its old KC-135s.

He cited an internal memo from a Rand executive saying it was "totally nuts" to expect such a fast report to be comprehensive.

Since then, the Pentagon and both aircraft makers have been waiting for the final, much-revised report.

Boeing is also worried that if the result of the study is an emphasis on a larger, joint tanker-cargo plane, its Everett-made 767 would be bypassed in favor of its 777 or the wider Airbus models, and Boeing would have to shut down the 767 assembly line.

Some hundred 767s were originally going be leased to the U.S. government for tanker use in 2001, representing a $20 billion-plus contract for Boeing.

But that plan was derailed after criticism from McCain about the way the leasing was handled and arranged, with Boeing's help.

His investigation uncovered a procurement scandal that sent two Boeing executives to prison and caused upheaval within the company, giving Airbus a chance to sweep in as the untarnished outsider.

Airbus has used the past two years to create goodwill among many on Capitol Hill. It is working overtime on high-profile community projects in the areas where it is setting up plants as part of a major "we are good neighbors and we're American" campaign, EADS North America Chief Executive Ralph Crosby said in a recent interview with The Times. EADS is the parent company of the European plane maker.

In an earlier talk, Dicks told The Times that despite the scandal caused by Boeing, the original plan to lease tankers from Boeing was the best idea, "because in the end, it will have been cheaper to have leased them at the time, than to build them now."

He noted that $100 million of the funds appropriated for new tankers in 2003 was still available to seed a Pentagon tanker-revival program this year.