Rockwell Collins CEO Clay Jones told investors during a conference call on Oct. 29, 2010, that he doesn't expect the Air Force to award the KC-X tanker contract in November 2010 as many in industry had expected. Rockwell is part of Boeing's team, which is competing against EADS North America for the $35 billion KC-X contract. The Office of the Secretary of Defense has maintained that the Air Force would pick the KC-X supplier sometime in the fall of 2010, which runs through Dec. 21, 2010. Here, six KC-135 tankers prepare to take off. The KC-X tanker will replace the Air Force's oldest KC-135s.
Air Force photo by A1C Marianne E. Lane