USAF KC-46A Tanker Update

[Stratofreighter]

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE68642420100907" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Boeing leaves open tanker price tweak

(Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA.N) left open the possibility of trimming its current bid to build 179 new U.S. refueling aircraft in its continuing drive to deny the deal to Airbus parent EADS (EAD.PA), its European rival.

[tva2]

...."US tanker award date becomes more uncertain"....

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http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2010 ... uncertain/



...."KC-X Tanker Award Slippage Always Expected"....

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...."U.S. Aerospace Files Second KC-X Protest"....

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http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/ ... %20Protest

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...."Murray takes credit for stopping overseas tanker contract"....

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...."EADS says won't kill price to win tanker"....

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[aviodromefriend]

...."Murray takes credit for stopping overseas tanker contract"....

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Maybe worthwhile to point out this is about something a lot earlier in this proces, not about the actual state of the awarding of the contract, probably only brought to mind of the american people given the upcoming elections for Congress.

[tva2]

Sen. Patty Murray makes it a concerted effort to dismerit and discredit any competitors in this bidding saga; this is what politics is all about. Nonetheless competition is quintessential the get the best product out of it, but not at the expense that Europe needs an alternative to the American defense industrial hegemony; hence the production of an alternative by EADS. But this does not warrant a sacrifice on both sides for domestic political gain and surely economic seasons. A premature claim has been made indeed preceding the upcoming (final?) selection decision and politics is gaining weight again.

thanks aviodromefriend for raising this flag ...

[tva2]

...."Divorced defense giants reunited in Reuters office"....

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[tva2]

...."We’re Cheaper, EADS Says"....

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...."EADS North America KC-45 Demonstrates Critical Air Force Aerial Refueling Requirement"....

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...."Boeing Likely To Lose Ruling"....

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...."WTO Sends Boeing Ruling to U.S., EU"....

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...."KC-X competitor fires back at cost questions "....

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[tva2]

...."Boeing vs. Airbus"....

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[tva2]

...."Murray blasts Rossi on comments about Airbus subsidies"....

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...."U.S. Senator Richard Shelby says : keep politics out of tanker competition"....

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...."Talbot: Air tanker battle resumes in Congress"....

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...."Exec: Illegal Boeing subsidies cost Airbus $45 billion in sales"....

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...."Unions at Boeing and Airbus have much in common"....

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[tva2]

...."Boeing bid asumed DoD wouldn't consider subsidies"....

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[Stratofreighter]

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/20 ... ewgen.html

DATE:29/09/10
SOURCE:Flight International

Boeing source reveals specifications for KC-767 NewGen Tanker
By Brendan Sobie

Boeing's proposed KC-767 NewGen Tanker for the US Air Force incorporates the wing and fuselage from the 767-200, the cargo door and floor from the 767-300F and the cockpit from the 767-400ER.

The offering, which is currently being evaluated by the USAF along with the EADS North America KC-45 for an initial 179-aircraft requirement, will also feature a new boom.

NewGen Tanker programme manager Jean Chamberlin says the new boom will have "a wider envelope than the KC-10 and is fully digitalised".
She declines to provide more details for proprietary reasons but says it will "absolutely" be developed in time for first delivery in 2017.

The new boom is the biggest difference between the NewGen Tanker and the four delayed KC-767 tankers that Boeing is now preparing to deliver to Italy.
"Boeing and the Italian air force will seek to deliver the first two KC-767s by the end of this year," the company says.

Chamberlin, speaking to Flightglobal after addressing employees at a 27 September rally in Everett to promote the NewGen Tanker programme,
also confirms that the tanker's cockpit will feature four large Rockwell Collins displays similar to those on the 787 and also now installed on the 777 and 767-400ER.

The latest technologies will also be incorporated at the operator station, where Chamberlin says there will be a "three-dimensional view". She says the NewGen Tanker will also feature a "computer-aided boom that allows you to ensure alignment". It will be able to "refuel any aircraft in the inventory of the US government and many of our foreign allies".

Chamberlin declines to discuss fuselage and wing specifications. But another Boeing source says the NewGen Tanker will have a 159ft (48.5m) wingspan and 156ft fuselage length, matching the footprint of the 767-200. The aircraft will borrow the cargo door and floor rollers from the 767-300F.

The source says Boeing decided against incorporating the fuselage and wing from the larger 767-300 to give the USAF more flexibility in operating into smaller airfields. The company believes the 767-200 is ideal for meeting the service's requirement for "best performance and smallest footprint".

And some more text....

[tva2]

...."U.S. Aerospace Loses Tanker Bid Protest in GAO Ruling"....

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...."KC-45 Supporters Rally In California"....

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[tva2]

...."EADS says it won OK for military aerial tanker"....

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...."Air Force chief: Tanker process won’t be rushed"....

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...."Still seeking tanker solution"....

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[tva2]

...."KC-X Last Tanker for Two Decades"....

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http://www.dodbuzz.com/2010/10/19/kc-x- ... o-decades/


...."Additional Fuel May Pay Off In Tanker Competition"....

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http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/ ... ompetition

[tva2]

...."Ala. residents speak out for EADS tanker"..

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http://www.heraldnet.com/article/201010 ... 8/1005/BIZ