The Defense Department is willing to extend the deadline for proposals for the KC-X tanker contest by 60 days from May 10 to July 9 if EADS provides formal notification of its intent to bid, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said Wednesday during a special press briefing. He characterized this as “a reasonable extension.” Given that fielding a new Air Force tanker is “long overdue” and DOD does not wish to slip its delivery date any further, Morrell said DOD is prepared to compress the bid-evaluation period “to stay as close to the original award schedule as possible.” That timetable calls for awarding the KC-X contract around mid-September. He said “no one should confuse” the Pentagon’s willingness to extend the bid deadline “with willingness to change any of the plane’s military requirements or the way bids will be evaluated.” Politics played no role in this decision, he said.
B-21 Raider First Flight Now Postponed to 2023
May 20, 2022
The Air Force says the B-21 Raider won't make its first flight until 2023; about a six-month delay from the last official estimates. No reason was given for the delay. While other programs have recently chalked up schedule slips to supply chain and labor shortages, the Air Force has said…