WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts today celebrated the final decision to award the KC-X next generation aerial refueling tanker to The Boeing Company, bringing thousands of jobs to Wichita and finally providing a safe and modern tanker to men and women in the Air Force.

"I am relieved that a safer and better plane will finally replace the Eisenhower era KC-135 tankers we use today. The men and women of our Air Force deserve the best tools available to carry out their critical, strategic and global mission. Their safety should be our number one priority," Roberts said.

"I am also pleased to see that the Air Force awarded the most highly-skilled, experienced workforce to build the tanker. I am proud of our workers at Boeing Wichita who can outcompete anyone and look forward to seeing that first tanker finished and out of the hanger.

"This award will create 7,500 new jobs at a time when the aviation industry and our nation needs them the most. The economic impact to Wichita and the state is an estimated $388 million.

"This decision marks the end of a difficult chapter in our nation’s defense procurement process. Now it is time to get the new tanker in the hands of the warfighter."

Senator Roberts has been a strong advocate of replacing the aging 50 year-old tanker with an American made plane. Roberts first called for a replacement to the KC-135 in 2001 as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and as chairman of the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities. At an Armed Services Committee hearing, Roberts held up a piece of corroded metal from a KC-135 illustrating the decrepit state of the aircraft men and women in uniform were forced to fly. He noted then the significant maintenance requirements of the tanker and that 40 percent of the fleet was grounded at any given time.

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