Press Release: Meeting the Demand

As we begin the heated competition to replace our nation’s air tanker fleet, you’ll see plenty of stories describing each competitor’s offering. Some of those articles, like in the L.A. Times today, discuss issues surrounding KC-X and how various groups support or oppose them.

What tends to get overlooked is the truly heroic work being done by the men and women of America’s Air Force as they fly and maintain the KC-135 fleet.

Over the weekend, there was a really interesting story that ran in The Press-Enterprise, a paper based near Los Angeles. It went beyond just a basic description of the fleet and highlighted Lt. Col. David Bell, a third-generation KC-135 pilot and member of March Air Reserve Base’s 452nd Air Mobility Wing, Riverside, Calif.

Despite the many systems upgrades and stellar maintenance work to keep the Boeing Stratotanker flying for decades to come, aircraft commanders (like Lt. Col. Bell) and their aircrews deserve a new tanker as soon as possible.

That’s where our KC-7A7 ‘family of tankers’ makes great sense. Whether it’s an agile, flexible wide-body KC-767 tanker to replace the KC-135, or a true large, highly capable 777-based tanker, Boeing is ready to meet the demand.