Best thing for Airbus with regards to USAF and the tanking is to do enough work to put in a bid to think Boeing might lose to Airbus so Boeing incur more costs. Basically let's face it there is no way certain people in the US will allow Airbus to actually win and produce tankers for the USAF. Let Boeing have it, they cannot do the job properly on this 767 tanker let alone on the Boeing problems with 787 and the current ongoing 737 "not" MAX or whatever it may get called.