A $16 billion U.S. Air Force plan to lease 100 Boeing KC-767 tankers for six years gained support May 23 from the Defense Department and the White House, and now heads to Congress for a brief review process.

After nearly 14 months of negotiations that cut $2 billion from the Boeing Co.'s original asking price, the Pentagon's Lease Review Panel approved the lease at a rate of $138 million per aircraft, which includes a $7 million financing charge.

Each aircraft is leased under a $131 million firm fixed price contract, with any savings returned to the Air Force. The financing charge pays the costs of interest and administering the lease by a special purpose entity.

As the lease expires, the Air Force will have the option to buy the KC-767s for $40 million each, possibly raising the total price to $178 million for each aircraft.

The lease proposal offers the most affordable near-term option for the Air Force to replace its oldest KC-135s, said E.C. "Pete" Aldridge Jr., who retired May 23 as undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics. Aldridge had chaired the Pentagon's lease panel with Comptroller Dov Zakheim.