Is it a Military Mission, or just a Flying Club?
Replacing the KC-135 fleet with 15 year old airplanes such as 767s, or A310s at a fraction of the cost of new, and keeping them ten years, makes economic sense. An astute enterprise demands payback within three years, often less.
Planes designed for the military are often worn out or obsolete in several thousand hours. Well built commercial airliners such as the DC-10 are flying over 100,000 hours. The USAF should take advantage of that robustness for a replacement tanker, and buy airframes that have half their usable life and the majority of their cost behind them. Spending $200+ Million for a New and Shiny airplane is folly when used can be had for a quarter of the price. The USAF should be run like a business, not a taxpayer funded flying club.
How are the old A310s holding up?
GB