Air Force Wants Old Boeing Plane, But Just Doesn’t Know it Yet
This KC-135 variant is smaller than an old-school Boeing 707 and older than Methuselah. These 135s are getting expensive to keep on the road.
The U.S. Air Force needs a new tanker and it thinks it wants an Airbus. But according to Boeing, what the Department of Defense really needs is a modified 767. Sure, it doesn’t carry as much fuel, but it has something special: “genius”. That’s right, those who rejected the Boeing Frankenplane “failed to comprehend the inherent manufacturing genius of the 767 bid.”
Well, O.K. then.
Boeing has a great history and the new 787 looks awesome. But that doesn’t mean that any old plane that Boeing can put together will be the best fit for the Air Force.
Assigned reading: UPI’s Defense Focus: Air tanker war, Parts One, Two, and Three.
Tags: 767, A330, airbus, boeing, frankenplane, inherent manufacturing genius, kc-135, kc-45, KC-767, kc-777