USAF KC-46A Tanker Update

[tva2]

...."EADS, Boeing Squaring Off Again Over Tankers"....

Info credit & copyright © 2010 AVIATION WEEK , The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc

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


...."EADS adds Air Force general to board"....

Info credit & copyright © 2010 American City Business Journals, Inc.

http://washington.bizjournals.com/washi ... ily16.html


...."Pentagon denies easing security for EADS tanker bid"....

Info credit & copyright © 2010 Alibaba.com Hong Kong Ltd.

http://news.alibaba.com/article/detail/ ... -eads.html

[tva2]

...."General: U.S. doesn't have enough tankers"....

Info credit & copyright © 2010 Hearst Seattle Media, LLC

http://blog.seattlepi.com/aerospace/archives/203870.asp

[tva2]

...."Air Force: KC-X contract start date is Nov. 12"....

Info credit & copyright © 2010 Army Times Publishing Company

http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2010/ ... e_050310w/

[tva2]

..."DoD: Early fall target for awarding KC-X deal"....

Info credit & copyright © 2010 Army Times Publishing Company

http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2010/ ... r_050410w/



...."EADS CEO would bet on winning tanker deal -- paper"....

Info credit & copyright © 2010 Thomson Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE6 ... arketsNews

[tva2]

...."Boeing announces formation of Airlift and Tankers division "....

Info credit & copyright © 2010 Noria Corporation

http://www.reliableplant.com/Read/24377 ... s-division

[tva2]

...."Rep. Norm Dicks, the honorable gentleman from Boeing"....

Info credit & copyright © 2010 The Seattle Times Company

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/o ... ank11.html


...."Gregoire, Murray boost Boeing in tanker bid"....

Info credit & copyright © 2010 The Seattle Times Company , courtesy of The Associated Press.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/l ... cation=rss

[tva2]

...."National Review: Short On Tankers, Short On Time"....

Info credit & copyright © 2010 NPR

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... =126797339

[tva2]

...."Boeing may pull out of U.S. Air Force tanker contest"....

Info credit & copyright © 2010 Wichita Eagle & Beacon Publishing Co.

http://blogs.kansas.com/aviation/2010/0 ... r-contest/


...."Boeing source: We may not bid for KC-X"....

Info credit & copyright © 2010 Army Times Publishing Company

http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2010/ ... id_051410/

[aviodromefriend]

“It gets difficult when you’re dealing with a competitor who has flat-out said on several occasions that they’re going to underbid us. How can they do that if the list price of their airplane is higher than the list on our plane? Because they are subsidized and we’re a for-profit company. So the question we’re asking is: How do we compete against four governments?”

Maybe Boeing should consider the position of these governments? Not all of them are considered as having a lot of money to spend on this saga.

[tva2]

This tour will certainly discredit the integrity of the entire bidding process and the USAF waited too long to conceive a tanker replacement. So this procurement and acquisition process by releasing this RFP earlier this year inherently preselected a certain contender handed their 'hat'. If either competitor re-appeals this RFP it will not go after its merits but to get the RFP rewritten to favor it for themselves ( A or B ).

[frank kramer]

It (this process and its political, financial and military implications) is getting more and more ridiculous every day. If this continues, the only way out for the USAF MIGHT be to stop flying missions that require tanker support altogether. It is difficult to see how the USAF will be able to sustain KC135 ops long enough for any new tanker to arrive, regardless of the as yet unsolved puzzle "who's gonna build them for us (and: can we afford them)".

[tva2]

A restatement from Boeing, frankly this knocks me out of the park ....

...."Boeing says it will bid for US tanker deal, despite concerns"...

Info credit & copyright © 2010 Thomson Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN172 ... arketsNews

[tva2]

...."KC-X Aerial Tanker Contract Starting To Become A Farce"....

Info credit & copyright © 2010 CBS Interactive Inc.

http://industry.bnet.com/government/100 ... e-a-farce/




...."Defense Bill Could Tilt Tanker Competition to Boeing"....

Info credit & copyright © 2010 CQ-Roll Call Group

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?d ... 0003667901




...."Machinists chief: Boeing insists it will bid on tanker"....

Info credit & copyright © 2010 Hearst Seattle Media, LLC

http://blog.seattlepi.com/aerospace/arc ... blog_last3

[ehusmann]

It (this process and its political, financial and military implications) is getting more and more ridiculous every day. If this continues, the only way out for the USAF MIGHT be to stop flying missions that require tanker support altogether. It is difficult to see how the USAF will be able to sustain KC135 ops long enough for any new tanker to arrive, regardless of the as yet unsolved puzzle "who's gonna build them for us (and: can we afford them)".

One way out would be to buy both. Not as far fetched as it sounds, as this first tanker RFP is only to replace the first batch of KC-135 (forgive me that I do not remember which subtype). The rest will be done later as well as the KC-10. By rearranging the whole procedure they could order both now and keep everyone happy.

Erwin

[frank kramer]

Great idea (serious: it's about the only way left to avoid someone -either Boeing, Airbus or the USAF- getting a black eye and to avoid either Congressmen or Obama having to admit defeat) USAF: Go tell Obama, guys! Keep us all happy! The trouble though is that unit prices may soar skyhigh if the number of airframes bought is divided in two.