New Air Force tanker studies to face close scrutiny

With the fate of the Air Force's $23.5 billion plan to replace its aging aerial tanker fleet with Boeing jets now deferred until November, senators say they will be watching closely to ensure that two forthcoming studies of the tankers are untainted by Air Force bias in favor of the KC-767 plane.

In a statement, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said the studies must be objective and called for one of the reports -- an analysis of alternatives for modernizing the tanker fleet, known as an AOA -- to be conducted by an independent body.

"The Air Force's conduct to date in this matter has been egregious," McCain said, adding that the Rand Corp., a government-funded think tank that he said receives an average of $25 million annually from the Air Force, "apparently prejudged the AOA" in a recent report.

"The process going forward will remain an issue of continuing interest to me," said McCain, a leading critic of the deal.

The decision Tuesday by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to delay the Boeing lease deal until after the presidential election was based in part on recent studies that question the Air Force's argument that it urgently needs to supplant its current fleet of Eisenhower-era KC-135 tankers.

While the Pentagon decision does not scrap the plan to lease 20 and buy 80 Boeing planes, observers agree the announcement is a major setback to a company that has been under scrutiny for the contract negotiation and cost.

In a statement, the company said it supports the Pentagon and the plan to study options for modernizing the tanker fleet. Boeing sources insist the KC-767 is the only aircraft that can meet stated Air Force needs, though McCain and other critics say those requirements were inappropriately shaped by Boeing personnel to favor the KC-767.

The company says most alternatives -- including re-engining some KC-135s, modifying used DC-10 or 767 aircraft, or selecting the European Airbus A-330 -- are not prudent.