USAF KC-46A Tanker Update

[tva2]

...."Mobile-area and Alabama state governments plan changes to EADS tanker incentives"....

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http://blog.al.com/live/2010/06/mobile- ... state.html




...."WTO to publish Airbus subsidy ruling Wednesday"....

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http://in.reuters.com/article/idINLDE65O1K820100625

[tva2]

...."UPDATE - WTO panel slams EU aid for Airbus"....

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http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE6531QZ20100630

[tva2]

...."Politicians pivot WTO ruling to Air Force tanker fight"....

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http://blog.seattlepi.com/aerospace/archives/213039.asp



...."US lawmaker group, hostile to EADS bid, cites WTO"....

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http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN3025060320100630

[aviodromefriend]

New entry in the bidding:

US company partners with Antonov in surprise KC-X bid
By Stephen Trimble

A new US company has entered the race for the US Air Force KC-X contract with a bid based on Ukrainian-built Antonov series airlifters.

A 1 July regulatory filing by the publicly-traded US Aerospace Inc. confirms the firm intends to bid in response to the USAF request for proposals for KC-X.

The filing document says US Aerospace will submit three models of Antonov aircraft - An-124-KC, An-122-KC and An-112-KC - before the KC-X bidding deadline on 9 July. The aircraft will be assembled in the US, but built in the Ukraine.

"We believe that we will be able to offer a superior aircraft at a significantly lower price than other potential bidders," the company says in the 8-K filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The US Aerospace/Antonov adds a dramatic new twist in the already heated competition between the Boeing KC-767 NewGen Tanker and EADS North America KC-45.

Antonov An-124 transports have been leased heavily by the USAF over the past decade to relieve demand on the strategic airlift fleet.

Little is known about the other two Antonov models listed by US Aerospace in the 8-K form. The An-122 is reportedly a two-engine version of the An-124. Meanwhile, an online Wikipedia entry on the An-12 turboprop cites a book reference to a concept for the An-112, which is described as a jet-powered, swept-wing variant of the Soviet Union's 1950s-era response to the Lockheed C-130.

The KC-X bid by US Aerospace is part of a broader strategic cooperation agreement signed with Antonov, according to the 8-K filing.

The agreement also includes bidding for other projects with Antonov aircraft to the Department of Defense, USAF and "licensed US defense contractors". The pact also covers the "sale of Antonov aircraft, products and services in the United States", the 8-K form says.

Antonov is responsible for design, construction and manufacture of aircraft under the agreement.

"We will be responsible for coordinating the bidding process, negotiating and contracting with customers, and coordinating with defense subcontractors for specialized systems," the filing document says.

Source:http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/20 ... x-bid.html

[tva2]

...."WTO Report on Airbus Subsidies Roils Tanker Battle Further"....

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[tva2]

...."EADS chief hopes to win tanker"....

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...."EADS CEO Slams Boeing "Propaganda," and Sees WTO Appeal"....

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http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=11079479




...."EADS CEO: EU Likely to Appeal WTO Findings on Loans"....

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[tva2]

...."Boeing submits tanker bid"....

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http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stor ... ily30.html


...."EADS submits refueling-tanker proposal; Boeing has the edge"....

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http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/08 ... r-20100708



...."WTO to Delay Boeing Subsidy Ruling "....

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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 68256.html



...."Boeing pitches US lower tanker price than last time"....

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http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSWEN681220100709

[tva2]

...."EADS offer lower prices in tanker bid"....

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http://chicagobreakingbusiness.com/2010 ... r-bid.html

[tva2]

...."Best airplane not a guarantee in tanker bid"....

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http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=341999



...."Boeing, EADS spend big to lobby opinion on tanker deal"....

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...."Gov. Bob Riley aims to land handful of major industrial projects"....

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...."EU trade chief wants U.S. talks over Airbus tanker bid"....

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http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-50082320100713

[tva2]

...."Airbus Won't Sacrifice Profit to Win for Tanker Contract"....

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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... lenews_wsj



...."E.U. Appeals W.T.O. Ruling on Airbus Subsidies"....

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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/22/busin ... .html?_r=1



...."Ala. official: Even Boeing believes EADS will win tanker contest"....

Info credit & copyright 2010 The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA.

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/201007 ... 9963/0/BIZ

[Stratofreighter]

Antonov's KC-X bid was submitted 5 minutes too late. Or was it

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/ ... el=defense" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

U.S. Aerospace Protests KC-X Source Selection

Aug 4, 2010

By Amy Butler

The Pentagon is assessing only two bids for the U.S. Air Force KC-135 replacement competition because a last-minute proposal from U.S. Aerospace/Antonov was not received before the deadline, according to Geoff Morrell, Pentagon press secretary.

This has sparked a protest from U.S. Aerospace filed Aug. 2 with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).
Company officials say that the “conduct of the Air Force was unreasonable,” among other complaints, according to an industry executive.
They claim that personnel at the Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, where the KC-X program office is located, discriminated against their bid.

Bids for the KC-X competition, estimated to be worth about $35 billion for 179 tankers, were due at 2 p.m. July 9 local time at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio (which is in the Eastern time zone).
EADS submitted its proposal a day early, and dispatched two copies — one by air and one by ground — to be sure it arrived.
Boeing’s submission was received at around 9 a.m. July 9, according to Morrell.

“Those deadlines count,” he says. “They mean something. They are there for a reason and any professional contractor knows that.” Both EADS and Boeing said their proposals were more than 8,000 pages in length.

According to an industry executive, a messenger carrying a bid from U.S. Aerospace arrived at the Wright-Patterson gate at about 1:30 p.m., 30 minutes before the deadline.

“Air Force personnel intentionally denied the messenger entry to the base” and later provided “incorrect directions,” and forced the messenger to wait when he got turned around.

The proposal was marked 2:05 p.m., but this executive says that the bid was under Air Force control prior to that time

Morrell, however, stands by the Pentagon’s view that the proposal was not received on time.
“This is a $30-40 billion bid,” he says. “This is not a high school homework assignment. Deadlines count here.”

“The proposal was late and by law we are not allowed to consider it,” Morrell said in response to a query from AVIATION WEEK. “We are considering two proposals and U.S. Aerospace is not one of those being considered.”

Chuck Arnold, a senior advisor to U.S. Aerospace, says the company is proposing an An-112 concept based on the four-engine An-70 transport.
The design features a boom capable of offloading 1,600 gal. per minute (more than the 1,200 gal. per minute required by the Air Force), and he boasts that it would be far less expensive than the Boeing 767-based design or the EADS A330-200 tanker platform.

The current competition is the Air Force’s most recent attempt to replacing aging KC-135s. A downselect is expected in November shortly after the national elections.

[tva2]

...."Political ads focus on Boeing jobs in Wash.; Machinists respond"....

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http://www.heraldnet.com/article/201008 ... 9946/0/BIZ



...."Pentagon: Tanker bid "not a high school homework assignment"....

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...."Five questions with Barry Eccleston, president and CEO, Airbus Americas "....

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...."Most important man in battle for $35-billion defense contract nearly dies"....

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http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/43260/2 ... y-died.htm



...."Air Force tanker bid thrown out for arriving 5 minutes late"....

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http://edition.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/08 ... &wom=false

[tva2]

..."Political Skinny: Obama avoids air tanker specifics"....

http://blog.al.com/live/2010/08/politic ... voids.html

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...."Four-state coastal alliance aims to revive Gulf region after oil spill"...

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[Stratofreighter]

Reuters: http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-51279020100903" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"EXCLUSIVE - U.S. tanker award date becomes more uncertain"

By Jim Wolf

WASHINGTON | Sat Sep 4, 2010 4:41am IST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The target date for the much-delayed award of a possible $50 billion U.S. Air Force refueling-plane deal just got murkier, and potentially more politicized.

No longer is mid-November necessarily the moment of truth in the rematch pitting Chicago-based Boeing Co(BA.N) against Airbus parent EADS(EAD.PA), its European rival.

"The decision will be in the fall," Lt. Col. Jack Miller, an Air Force spokesman, told Reuters Friday. "What I gave you is the latest, and corrects and clarifies any previous statements."

"Fall" means potentially as late as Dec. 20, according to the calendar.

etcetera etcetera...

[tva2]

...."1,000th 767 production starts next week"....

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