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1 1 (November 20, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdctf0001 and id is 1 raw text is: SConr essional Research Servik Air Force Tanker Strategy Changes November 20, 2020 As discussed in the CRS report Air Force KC-46A Pegasus Tanker, the Air Force is in the process of replacing its fleet of 396 KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft, built in the 1950s and 60s, and 59 KC-10 Extenders, which entered service in 1981. Recent announcements indicate that the planned replacement program is changing significantly from its original form, which Congress may consider in evaluating the FY2022 defense budget requests. The Air Force originally envisaged replacing the current tanker fleet in three stages. An initial acquisition of 179 new aircraft procured through the KC-X competition (won by the Boeing KC-46A) would replace roughly one-third of the KC-135 fleet. A further 179 tankers were projected to be procured in a second solicitation called KC-Y; initially projected as a new competition based on what aircraft were available at the time, it was subsequently recast as a continuation of KC-46A procurement. A third program, KC-Z, was to be a replacement for the KC-10 fleet, a larger tanker than the KC-46. Subsequently, the Air Force dropped plans for the KC-Z, envisioning it instead as a third tranche of KC-46s. The Air Force view of KC-Z has been evolving for some time, and recent remarks by service leaders indicated an interest in focusing that program less on the size of the tanker than other attributes such as stealth, autonomy, and/or whether it should carry crew. However, it now appears that tanker procurement plans have changed in at least two other ways. One is that the KC-Y program is again to be a full and open competition rather than a follow-on KC-46 contract. As the Air Force seeks to acquire a nondevelopmental aircraft (i.e., one already available on the market), this would seem to limit the field to the KC-46 and the Airbus A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport. An earlier version of the A330 tanker lost to Boeing after three rounds of a protracted and controversial KC-X competition. The Air Force is referring to this prospective procurement as a bridge tanker, to fill in between the current KC-X and future KC-Z; it is not clear how or whether that nomenclature distinguishes the program from the already-scheduled KC-Y. Funding for the bridge tanker may be in the FY2022 budget submission scheduled to appear early in calendar 2021. Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress. gov IN11537 CRS INS GHT Prepared for Members and Cornmttees oi Conqres3------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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