Letter urges quick tanker action

U.S. Sens. Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions are urging Defense Secretary Robert Gates to move quickly with a plan to replace the Air Force's fleet of refueling tankers. The letter was sent Thursday, a day after U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., said it could take at least two more years to restart the tanker competition. The Northrop Grumman/EADS team won the competition in February and the planes were to be assembled in Mobile, Ala., but the competition was scrapped in September in the wake of a Boeing protest. (Source: Mobile Press-Register, 12/12/08)