TOPEKA — Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson and Washington Governor Chris Gregoire have formed the U.S. Tanker 2010 Coalition. The group of state, business and labor groups will try to twist the arm of the U.S. Air Force into buying new aerial refueling tankers from Boeing. They want to reverse the Air Force’s decision to buy tankers from the European aircraft maker Airbus. Parkinson said the proposed Boeing tanker is better than the Airbus tanker and would employ American workers. The Pentagon will issue a formal request for proposals for the Air Force’s next-generation tankers as early as today.
