For Immediate Release

May 23, 2003

REP. NORM DICKS SAYS KC-767 TANKER LEASE RECOGNIZES
URGENCY OF REPLACING OLDER DEFENSE DEPT. EQUIPMENT

WASHINGTON, D.C. – After many months of negotiations, the Defense Department has approved an agreement with the Boeing Company to lease 100 767 aerial refueling tankers to begin replacing Air Force tankers that are now more than 40 years old.   Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) a senior member of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, said Pentagon officials ultimately approved the unusual lease method of procuring these planes because “they recognized the urgency of replacing aging weapons which are both costly to maintain and a serious threat to readiness.”

            The congressman, who has worked closely with Air Force and Defense Department leaders since the lease concept was first authorized in a defense spending bill in late 2001, said the landmark agreement caps the amount that can be spent to lease each Boeing 767 tanker at $131 million.  The 100-plane lease “represents a great deal for the taxpayers and for the Defense Department, and it also signals the urgent need for Congress and the Pentagon to pay greater attention to the condition of weapon systems that have given our military the technological superiority we need,” Rep. Dicks said.

            The long awaited approval of the lease terms was a “team effort,” Dicks said, involving House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Senators Ted Stevens and Daniel K. Inouye of the defense subcommittee, as well as Washington Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, who secured the budget committee’s approval of the lease concept at a critical time.  The agreement will now be referred to the four defense panels in the House and Senate for a 30-day final review, Rep. Dicks said.  He said he was confident that any concerns in Congress can be addressed and that there will be no further delays in the program.

            Rep. Dicks also applauded the wording of the Pentagon decision document, signed by Assistant Secretary of Defense E.C. Aldridge, Jr., which states in part:

"There is consensus within the Department that we must start recapitalizing the airborne tanker fleet as soon as possible, and that re-engining the KC-135E aircraft will not extend their service life.  The Leasing Review Panel compared the merits and shortcomings of both leasing and purchasing KC-767 aircraft, and the Secretary determined that the lease option best met the needs of the Air Force and was preferable for two primary reasons.  First, the lease will require a lesser initial outlay in the Future Years Defense Program (FYDP).  Second, leasing accelerates the delivery of aircraft."

            In addition, the congressman said, the decision further recognizes the need to accelerate the acquisition of additional tankers –there are currently about 550 of the 1960’s-vintage planes in service -- and to develop a plan for purchasing them within other defense requirements.  The Aldridge memo further states:

"While the currently approved plan will provide for delivery of a total of 100 KC-767 aircraft ... it is the intent of the Department to go beyond the initial 100 aircraft as we begin the recapitalization of the airborne tanker fleet.  I have directed the Air Force to develop a long-range recapitalization plan beyond the current lease proposal and to present that plan to the Secretary of Defense by 1 November 2003."

            “Having served on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee for 25 years, I have become convinced that we are shortchanging the defense procurement budgets and postponing difficult decisions that will ultimately represent a much higher cost to the taxpayers and affect our military readiness,” Rep. Dicks said.  “That’s why I am very encouraged by the determination of Pentagon and congressional leadership to persevere and approve this creative method of addressing an urgent defense requirement,” he added.

            The 100-plane order is by far the largest Boeing has received for the 767 twin-engine widebody airframe, which entered commercial service in 1982.  The freighter version of the 767, which will be utilized for the tanker configuration, was launched in 1993 with an order of 60 aircraft from United Parcel Service.  Coming at a time when commercial orders for all aircraft have slowed, the Pentagon’s order “will save thousands of jobs on the 767 line,” Rep. Dicks stated.

            “Over the next 20 years, particularly as we look toward the replacement of about 500 of the older 707 aircraft for tankers and other military missions, the 767 will become the Air Force’s common airframe for command, support and utility aircraft.  With perhaps $100 billion in orders over that 20 year period, it will clearly be a major force in sustaining Boeing’s Puget Sound area employment base,” Rep. Dicks said.

Home >> Newsroom >> Press Releases