Does the Air Force need tankers?
About this there is less disagreement, though there are questions of urgency. The existing fleet of tankers — KC-135s — were first deployed in the 1950s. About 90 percent of the aerial-refueling fleet is more than 40 years old. The Air Force compares maintaining the tankers with caring for a classic car and is concerned that a maintenance problem could require a fleetwide grounding, though that risk is tough to gauge. McCain, Congress’ most outspoken critic of the deal, agrees the tankers at some point will need to be replaced. But he’d like to see the service put new engines on the oldest models and continue to deal with corrosion and other issues of aging. If the Air Force needs the planes, why not just buy them? There is not enough money in the acquisitions budget to do so. The Pentagon plans its budgets at least five years out and faces shortages in procurement accounts. To redirect money to the tanker program, the Air Force has argued, would require cutting billions from other pro
