KC-X

Air Force Michael Donley says that Boeing and EADS conducted a "spirited competition" to build the new plane, called the KC-X tanker.

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The KC-X refueling tanker is an effort to replace the Air Force's aging fleet of KC-135 tankers, which began flying under President Dwight Eisenhower.

Boeing Bid Beats Europe for Tanker Nathan Hodge 2011

Gates: Maintain KC-X tanker schedule and funding, solicit bids this summer.

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But the KC-X came to symbolize a highly politicized military procurement process.

Boeing Bid Beats Europe for Tanker Nathan Hodge 2011

"We've got the solution closest to the KC-X, ready to be delivered," said

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Engineers and marketers say the plane is more than 90% identical to the model they want to sell to the Pentagon and is much nearer to being ready than what Boeing is pitching for the U.S. program, called KC-X.

Rivals Race for Tanker Deal 2010

Much the same goes for the Air Force, which is flying decades-old bombers, fighter jets and refueling tankers as modernization programs are drastically scaled back (as with the F-22) or endlessly delayed (as with the KC-X tanker).

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"EADS has indicated interest in possibly competing for the Air Force's KC-X tanker and asked that we extend the deadline for proposals by 90 days," said a spokesman for Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

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One of the longest-running and most controversial Pentagon acquisition projects in recent memory may be entering its final phase, as companies prepare to resubmit bids for the KC-X, a new Air Force refueling aircraft.

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Boeing doesn't yet have a version of the KC-X that flies, but executives say that isn't a disadvantage, as they plan to use a design derived from tankers they built for Japan and Italy.

Rivals Race for Tanker Deal 2010