Retired Air Force General Arthur Lichte was named to EADS North America’s board. DefenseNews writes that the former head of the Air Mobility Command (AMC) will join EADS (EADS:P) American subsidiary’s board soon.

The AMC commands the Air Force’s tanker assets and having Gen Lichte will aid the company in preparing not only their proposal but the battlefield as he will certainly carry weight with government officials and Congress.

A key part of building a good proposal and running a smart acquisition campaign is to always remember the customer. That's not very tough on KC-X. We see the U.S. Air Force working very hard to fly and maintain their current fleet of KC-135 air refueling tankers each day and realize they must have a new tanker as soon as possible. I just read a posting in Air Force Magazine's Daily Report eNewsletter ("Afghan Surge Prompts Mobility Records") describing the service's record breaking efforts in Afghanistan that tells it all. According to the story, USAF mobility forces have set records for cargo airdropped (4.1 million pounds in September). On the tanker side, approximately 80 million pounds of fuel was offloaded last month compared to 60 million pounds way back in February. For those of you who have served in the Air Mobility Command, this type of surge is not new but still very impressive. Whether it's the planners at the Tanker Airlift Control Center managing the global movement of aircraft or the aircrews and maintainers keeping it all on schedule despite some difficult challenges, it is very clear how important the U.S. Air Force is to keeping America safe and projecting our nation's reach. Read more at United States Tanker

The U.S. Air Force’s Air Mobility Command (AMC) will be operating the new KC-X tanker as a supplement to their KC-10 and KC-135 aircraft. Needless to say they are very excited about finally getting a new aircraft to replace their Cold War vintage fleet. Lost in all the back-and-forth on the contract and competition is the need for this aircraft.

Both the Gulf War and the current “Overseas Contingency Operations” demonstrate a need for aerial tanking. This capability extends the range of the U.S.’s strike aircraft as well as maximizes their presence on the battlefield.