The UK Advanced Tanker/Transport is going to be leased because we're going
through a competitive bidding process, and the end product 'should' cost
less than buying outright over the product lifetime. Personally, I still
think they should buy outright - if they extend the aircraft's flying life,
like they've done with the VC-10 and Tristar, it gets expensive fast.
Besides, we tried this with the C-17's - and because of the masses of extra
time we've put on them through Afghanistan and Iraq, it's going to cost the
UK taxpayer a ton of cash.

The US tanker program, whilst very nessesary, is really just a sop to Boeing
because they didn't win the JSF program - and it's going to cost more than
buying outright even if they stick to the projections. Come on, no
competitive bidding process? As far as I know, the USAF is howling that they
should buy the tankers, not lease them - why, with that extra $5.6 billion,
they could buy one, maybe two extra F/A-22's!

Matt

"Kevin Brooks" wrote in message
om...
(John Bailey) wrote in message
...
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/28/opinion/28BROO.html
(quoting)
U.S. Air Force would lease 100 refueling tankers, modified Boeing
767's, from an entity controlled by the Boeing Corporation.
This whole mess started because the Air Force can't pay for new
tankers up front, so it tried to push back the costs by leasing.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the leasing option will
cost taxpayers an extra $5.6 billion, though scandal connoisseurs will
appreciate that the deal also involves the use of "special purpose
entities," the accounting mechanisms used by Enron executives in their
glory days. Speaker Dennis Hastert's effort to ram through an Air
Force tanker deal for the Boeing Corporation. This deal isn't just
shady ? it's the Encyclopaedia Britannica of shady. (end quotes)

John Bailey
http://home.rochester.rr.com/jbxroads/mailto.html

Gee, who'd have thunk the NYT would oppose something thet the USAF and
DoD want? What is Hastert's big gain in this? This all looks a bit
one-sided to me; maybe the NYT should go investigate why the RAF is
also pursuing a tanker lease program...

Brooks