BOEING CO. Pentagon OKs Air Force leasing plan

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Pentagon has approved an Air Force plan to lease 100 modified 767 jetliners from Boeing Co. for use as refueling tankers, Sen. Pat Roberts announced Friday.
The controversial plan has undergone repeated delays, but supporters in Congress kept up pressure on the Pentagon.
"I am very pleased the Department of Defense approved the 767 tankers lease," said Roberts, R-Kan., who is chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. "I've worked for more than a year with the Air Force and the department to see that this decision was reached."
Critics have called the estimated $17 billion cost too high and complained about the unusual structure of the deal, which calls for leasing the planes rather than buying them outright.
The plan has strong support because of the approximately 2,300 jobs it would bring to Boeing.
The tankers' 767 airframes would be built at Boeing's plant in Everett, Wash., about 25 miles north of Seattle. Other work on the military modifications would be done at Boeing's Wichita, Kan., plant.
The Pentagon said Boeing can build the tankers for about $131 million each, Roberts said. Earlier versions of the plan called for the government to buy the planes for $4 billion at the conclusion of the lease.
Boost for Seattle area
Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said the deal would be a major boost for the depressed economy of the Seattle area.
"It's a big victory for our state's economy and will deliver a sustained boost for Boeing's production lines and its workers at a time when they need it most," said Cantwell. "The men and women who serve our nation in the Air Force need and deserve the best equipment available, and the Boeing 767 tanker is a best-of-breed technology."
The tankers are intended to replace more than 500 KC-135's that are over 40 years old.