Marvin Sambur, the assistant secretary of the air force, will leave the agency on or before January 20, the air force said.

Air Force Secretary James Roche, who announced his resignation on Tuesday, lauded Sambur as "a highly accomplished professional who gave up a lucrative career to serve his country in a time of war."

"He led our acquisition team with innovation, creativity and honor," Roche said in a statement.

Sambur, like Roche, championed a 21 billion dollar deal to buy and lease 100 767A tanker planes from Boeing that ran into fierce opposition from Senator John McCain, who denounced it as a sweetheart deal made at taxpayers expense.

The deal was finally shelved by Congress last month after a former top air force acquisition official, Darlene Druyun, was sentenced to nine months in prison for favoring Boeing in procurement negotiations in 2001 and 2002 in return for a high paying job at Boeing.

Prosecutors said she admitted among other things to agreeing to a higher price for the Boeing tanker aircraft as a "parting gift" to her future employer, the US Attorney's office said.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had suspended the deal pending the outcome of an inspector general's report and an air force review of alternatives for replacing or refurbishing an ageing fleet of KC-135 tankers.

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