History of the KC-10A Aircraft Acquisition

摘要

This is an historical review of the KC-10A acquisition. In this program the Air Force bought an 'off-the-shelf' McDonnell Douglas DC-10 aircraft, using commercial business contracting practices and procedures for both system acquisition and support, and gave the Air Force Logistics Command a rare opportunity to conduct a major system buy. This review traces the program from 1967 to early 1988 and discusses several lessons learned from its unique aspects. To set the stage, the report reviews the major weapon system acquisition process, both as it was in the early 1970s, when this acquisition program formally started, and in its increased complexity of today. This report should be useful to those concerned with systems acquisition, especially those involved in other commercial derivative programs, and interesting to those curious about the KC-10A program. Keywords: Tanker aircraft, Jet transport aircraft, Air Force procurement.