Jane Edwards
Omega Aerial Refueling Services intends to purchase new aircraft and take out from storage its Boeing-built KC-707 and KDC-10 tankers as the U.S. Air Force looks to industry for additional tanker services, FlightGlobal reported Thursday.
“We are very much interested in bringing our expertise to that problem, and expect to go ahead and either bid or partner once the solicitation comes out,” said Bill Schaefer, board chairman and interim president at Omega.
Omega’s plan comes after Lockheed Martin and Airbus agreed to team up to meet the U.S. military’s aerial refueling requirements.
The report said U.S. Transportation Command issued in June a request for information, stating that it had 20K to 30K hours of aerial refueling service requirement each year.
Schaefer said he believes USTRANSCOM would need 17 to 20 tanker aircraft to meet its requirement, according to the report.
