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MacDill In The Running For New Flying Tankers

Image courtesy of Boeing

These renditions show the KC-767 Advanced Tanker refueling an Air Force F-22 fighter.

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By TED JACKOVICS and MARK HOLAN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 15, 2008

TAMPA - Part of a fleet of new refueling tankers could be headed to Tampa if MacDill Air Force Base is selected from among 27 installations across the country being considered as bases for the new aircraft.

Boeing Co. and Northrop Grumman Corp. are vying for a $40 billion contract for 179 KC-X aircraft based on variations of the Boeing 767 or Airbus A330 airliners.

The new aircraft would replace part of the fleet of more than 500 KC-135 tankers based at MacDill and elsewhere, perhaps beginning as soon as 2011 to 2013. The winning contractor is expected to be selected by the end of this month.

MacDill appears to be a logical base for future tanker operations to refuel fighters, bombers and other military aircraft in mid-air. Sixteen aging KC-135 tankers are based at MacDill, with five of them typically in Qatar supporting the U.S. war effort in the Middle East.

Location Adds To MacDill Appeal

In addition to its location near the East Coast, from which it can readily launch overseas deployments, MacDill is the southernmost location among the 27 bases in the continental United States, Hawaii and Alaska considered for the KC-X.

That puts it closest to military flights in the eastern Gulf Coast and Caribbean areas, with the next closest KC-X sites under consideration in Birmingham, Ala., Knoxville, Tenn., and Goldsboro, N.C.

Col. Robert Thomas, commander of the 6th Air Mobility Wing at MacDill, was not available Thursday and the base had no comment on the KC-X, MacDill spokeswoman Rebecca Heyse said.

Under an earlier project that collapsed amid an ethics scandal, MacDill was expected to receive 32 refueling tankers. Under that plan, the Air Force could buy or lease retrofitted Boeing 767s as tankers. Congress killed that deal in 2004 after revelations that Boeing had hired a top Air Force acquisitions official who had given the company preferential treatment. New bidding began in 2006.

In January, a report released by U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley provided a "road map" where future, advanced weapon systems potentially could be based.

It calls for the Air Force to evaluate installations to replace current aircraft with future systems, a process that requires stringent National Environmental Policy Act appraisals in addition to military considerations.

"We're simply promising a look at these systems and installations as our planning continues," Gen. Moseley said in a statement with the report. "This is the Air Force's planning process for the future, for providing the required force structure that will give our nation capability for vigilance, reach and power across the globe ... and to protect the Homeland."

Officials contacted at Air Mobility Command headquarters at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., said it was premature to say how many KC-X aircraft might be assigned to each base.

Many Projects In Pipeline

More than a dozen construction projects totaling more than $800 million are under way or on the drawing board at MacDill. The work includes $154 million for base housing and $119 million for a new Central Command headquarters.

The budget also includes $46 million in airfield-related construction and renovation. It is unclear what impact the work might have on the potential arrival of the KC-X, since the base said it could not answer questions Thursday.

This spring MacDill also is expected to release updated aircraft noise data for the first time since the base's mission changed to tankers from fighter planes 10 years ago.

Some 5,700 people lived below MacDill's two flight paths over Ballast Point at the time of the 2000 Census. Some residents complained about noise from the aircraft to military and city officials.

It is possible the KC-X, which will be powered by two jet engines regardless of the contractor selected, will be quieter than the KC-135s that fly from MacDill powered by four jet engines.

In addition to listing MacDill, the Air Force "road map" report said the Florida Air National Guard unit at Jacksonville International Airport, which provides air defense aircraft on alert at Homestead Air Reserve Base south of Miami, could receive the F-22 Raptor or F-35A Lightning II fighter jets.

The Air National Guard, which provides all of the nation's peacetime air sovereignty and air defense forces, is seeking a replacement for its aging F-15 aircraft, which the Jacksonville unit flies, along with its F-16s.

The Air Force Reserve unit at Homestead is a candidate to get F-35s to replace its F-16s.

If Northrop Grumman wins the KC-X contract, a decision insiders think is likely to be made public on Feb. 29, ABA Industries of Pinellas Park, Pall Aeropower Corp. of New Port Richey, Smiths Aerospace of Clearwater and L-3 Communications of Sarasota are among Florida subcontractors that could supply systems to the project.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. Reporter Ted Jackovics can be reached at (813) 259-7817 or tjackovics@tampatrib.com. Reporter Mark Holan can be reached at (813) 835-2102 or mholan@tampatrib.com.

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