Air Force official wants lease deal with Boeing

Air Force Secretary James Roche challenged Boeing Wednesday to propose a realistic business deal that would allow the Air Force to lease up to 100 Boeing 767 airliners for conversion as airborne tankers.

Roche clearly favored the lease arrangement as a faster means to replace some of the Air Force's oldest KC-135 tankers. But he said, "We have to have a business case that I cannot just justify to members of Congress," but also to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the Office of Management and Budget.

It cannot be seen as "a bailout" for Boeing, he said in a breakfast speech to an aerospace forum sponsored by DFI International and the Air Force.

Roche noted that the lease proposal has become "controversial," but added, "It's the right thing to do to see if there is a chance to save the taxpayers some money and do good for the Air Force and the Navy at the same time."

He suggested the lease could cover from 50 to 100 of the Boeing airliners. If Boeing cannot produce an acceptable lease deal, Roche said the Air Force would have to resort to the normal, lengthy procurement process.