U.S. Senator Patty Murray says Fairchild Air Force Base still is expected to be among the early homes to a new air refueling tanker, although no timetable has been set.

Murray and U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers met this week with Gen. Arthur Lichte, head of the Air Mobility Command, after a ceremony to dedicate an $8.2 million facility at the Air Force Survival School, which shares the base with the refueling wing. Lichte said he was “very confident” Fairchild would be among the first bases where new tankers would be assigned.

Any schedule for replacing the KC-135s at Fairchild and throughout the Air Force is speculative because the Pentagon was forced to reopen the bidding between Boeing and Lockheed for the $35 billion contract, and members of Congress have questioned whether the new rules give an advantage to one manufacturer. (Spokesman Review)