Talk about putting lipstick on mammals...
The Pentagon said it plans to push back the decision to award a $40 billion contract to build new aerial refueling tankers until the next administration -- a move that is a significant shift from its earlier decision to move at lightning speed to pick a new winner by the end of the year.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said he and other Pentagon officials realized the award could not be made by the end of the year as he had previously wanted. "Over the past seven years the process has become enormously complex and emotional -- in no small part because of mistakes and missteps along the way by the Department of Defense," Gates said in his opening statement this morning before the House Armed Services Committee. "It is my judgment that in the time remaining to us, we can no longer complete a competition that would be viewed as fair and objective in this highly charged environment."
He said having a "cooling-off period will allow the next administration to review objectively the military requirements and craft a new acquisition strategy for the KC-X."
| Most likely he figures, and rightly so I think, that the current contract specifications have become so tainted any award would be fought in court. Expect a cooling off period, a new set of specs, and a new Air Force team writing them. |
| Former Spook has some interesting insights on this; he's been following the story for quite a while and is the first blog I turn to for all things Air Force. |
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