“We’re close” to launching a new tanker competition, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley told reporters Monday at AFA’s Air & Space Conference. He said the new draft for proposals would be out “in a couple of weeks,” with the announcement coming not from Donley but from Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who will also explain the rules of the new contest. And, Donley said he sees nothing in the recent World Trade Organization ruling that would alter the course of the tanker contest. “We see no immediate impact,” he said, since there are still “months” of process and potential appeals remaining to play out over the WTO ruling.
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…