The fund has grown since November, when Congressional appropriators decided to provide the Air Force a $150 million cushion (DAILY, Nov. 11, 2007). "[The Tanker Transfer Fund] could be deployed in a protest," Hoffman said. "If [the KC-X award] does end up in protest, we'll support the Government Accountability Office's outcome and process."

Hoffman said he vehemently opposed the idea of a split buy, saying the contract has always been "winner take all. A split buy would take another 18 to 24 months of re-do."

The KC-X contract could be awarded as soon as Feb. 25, and will cover System Design and Development (SDD) and an unspecified low-rate initial production quantity. Hoffman said the contract could be worth $30 billion to $40 billion overall, although the exact amount is "vendor specific," since the value is related to the cost of each aircraft.