The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling tanker aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It has a narrower fuselage and is shorter than the 707. Boeing gave the aircraft the internal designation of Model 717. The KC-135 was the United States Air Force (USAF)'s first jet-powered refueling tanker and replaced the KC-97 Stratofreighter. The KC-135 was initially tasked with refueling strategic bombers, but it was used extensively in the Vietnam War and later conflicts such as Operation Desert Storm to extend the range and endurance of US tactical fighters and bombers.
The McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender is an American tanker and cargo aircraft that was operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1981 to 2024. A military version of the three-engine DC-10 airliner, the KC-10 was developed from the Advanced Tanker Cargo Aircraft Program. It incorporates military-specific equipment for its primary roles of aerial refueling and transport. It was developed to supplement the KC-135 Stratotanker following experiences in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The KC-10 was the second McDonnell Douglas transport aircraft to be selected by the Air Force following the C-9. A total of 60 KC-10s were produced for the USAF. The Royal Netherlands Air Force operated two similar tankers designated KDC-10 that were converted from DC-10s.
Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) is the name given to a British project to procure a fleet of Airbus A330 MRTT aerial refuelling (AR) and air transport (AT) aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF), to replace their then existing older models such as the Vickers VC10s and Lockheed TriStars.
The Airbus CC-150 Polaris is the designation for the civilian Airbus A310-300s which have been converted into multi-purpose, long-range jet aircraft for passenger, freight or medical transport and mid-air refueling for the Royal Canadian Air Force.
The Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) is a European aerial refueling and military transport aircraft based on the civilian Airbus A330. A total of 15 countries have placed firm orders for approximately 82 aircraft, of which 60 had been delivered by 31 October 2024. A version of the A330 MRTT, the EADS/Northrop Grumman KC-45, was selected by the United States Air Force for its aerial tanker replacement programme, but the programme was cancelled.
The Boeing KC-767 is a military aerial refueling tanker and transport aircraft developed from the Boeing 767-200ER. The tanker received the designation KC-767A, after being selected by the U.S. Air Force (USAF) initially to replace older KC-135Es. In December 2003, the contract was frozen and later canceled due to corruption allegations.
Harry Curtis Stonecipher is an American business executive who was president and chief executive officer of American aerospace companies: Sundstrand, McDonnell Douglas, and The Boeing Company. Stonecipher was widely credited with the seeming resurgence of Boeing after government procurement scandals. However, his tenure also included major decisions to change Boeing's design and sourcing process for the new 787 airliner. These decisions later proved to be organizationally and financially disastrous for the company. Stonecipher was forced to resign from Boeing following the disclosure of an affair with a subordinate, in violation of the Boeing Code of Conduct.
James Gerard Roche is an American politician. He served as the 20th Secretary of the Air Force, serving from January 20, 2001 to January 20, 2005. Prior to serving as secretary, Roche served in the United States Navy for 23 years, and as an executive with Northrop Grumman.
Philip Murray Condit is an American engineer and businessman who was Chair and Chief executive officer (CEO) of the Boeing company from 1996 to 2003. He dramatically reshaped the company by its merger with McDonnell Douglas and relocating Boeing's headquarters from Seattle to Chicago. He resigned to take symbolic responsibility for a military procurement scandal, although he was not accused of any ethical breaches.
Operation Ill Wind was a three-year investigation launched in 1986 by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation into corruption by U.S. government and military officials, and private defense contractors. Charles "Chuck" Duff was the sole Air Force Action Officer responsible for developing, coordinating and implementing Air Force actions relating to the Department of Justice's "Ill Wind" procurement fraud investigation. Government officials, private individuals and companies were eventually convicted of various crimes including nine government officials, 69 Washington consultants and 7 military contractors, as well as executives at GE, Boeing and United Technologies.
Michael M. Sears is an American former Boeing executive who was fired and criminally convicted for his role in the United States Air Force tanker contract controversy.
KC-X was the United States Air Force (USAF) program to procure its next-generation aerial refueling tanker aircraft to replace some of their older Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers. The contest was for a production contract for 179 new tankers with estimated value of US$35 billion. The two contenders to replace the KC-135 aircraft were Boeing and EADS, following the elimination of US Aerospace, Inc. from the bidding process.
In the U.S. Air Force (USAF), a boom operator is an aircrew member aboard tanker aircraft who is responsible for safely and effectively transferring aviation fuel from one military aircraft to another during flight. The name boom operator implies that one "operates a boom", which is a long, extendable metal arm attached to the rear underside of the tanker that the boom operator connects to the fuel receptacle of a receiving aircraft. The boom operator also controls the refueling drogue, a basket attached to a flexible hose that trails the tanker, when using the probe-and-drogue system. The USAF officially designates the boom operator career field as "In-Flight Refueling" with a specialty code of 1A0X1. However, this designation is usually reserved for administrative paperwork such as enlistment contracts and performance reports, as boom operators themselves are rarely referred to as in-flight refueling specialists within the USAF. The title "Boom Operator" is most commonly used, in reference to the aircrew position they occupy on the airplane, as noted in USAF regulations and aircraft flight manuals. Fellow crew members affectionately address them as "boom" or "boomer".
General Gregory Stuart Martin is a retired U.S. Air Force general and Commander, Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Martin was a command pilot with more than 4,600 flying hours in various aircraft, including the F-4, F-15, C-20 and C-21. Upon retirement in 2005, Martin took a position consulting for Northrop Grumman and also served on an Air Force panel studying stealth aircraft technology, among other Pentagon and private industry roles.
The EADS/Northrop Grumman KC-45 was a proposed aerial refueling tanker aircraft based on the Airbus A330 MRTT. The United States Air Force (USAF) had ordered 179 KC-45As in the first stage of replacing the aging Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker tankers currently in service. However, the contest was reopened in July 2008, after Boeing's protest of the award was upheld. In response to the new contest, on 8 March 2010, Northrop Grumman announced it was abandoning its bid for the new contract, with its CEO stating that the revised bid requirement favoured Boeing. On 20 April 2010, EADS announced it was re-entering the competition and entered a bid with the KC-45. Eventually, the USAF selected the Boeing KC-46 Pegasus.
Pablo E. Carrillo is a one-time admiralty lawyer from New Orleans, Louisiana, who was U.S. Senator John McCain's chief of staff. In that capacity, Carrillo led McCain's investigations of the Jack Abramoff tribal lobbying scandal and the KC-X Boeing tanker scandal, which McCain referred to extensively throughout his campaign.
The Boeing KC-46 Pegasus is an American military aerial refueling and strategic military transport aircraft developed by Boeing from its 767 jet airliner. In February 2011, the tanker was selected by the United States Air Force (USAF) as the winner in the KC-X tanker competition to replace older Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers. The first aircraft was delivered to the USAF in January 2019. The USAF intends to procure 179 tankers by 2027.
A fixed-price contract is a type of contract for the supply of goods or services, such that the agreed payment amount will not subsequently be adjusted to reflect the resources used, costs incurred or time expended by the contractor. This contract type may be contrasted with a cost-plus contract, which is intended to cover the costs incurred by the contractor plus an additional amount for profit, and with time-and-materials contracts and labor-hour contracts. Fixed-price contracts are one of the main options available when contracting for supplies to governments.
This is the history of American aerospace manufacturing company Boeing.
