Defense Procurement News » KC-767

Boeing Reorganizes To Form Division For KC-X

Matthew Potter — Wed, 05 May 2010 10:26:29 +0000

Boeing (BA) announced yesterday that they are forming a new division within the company called “Airlift and Tankers” (A&T). This group will have responsibly for the C-17 production and the hopefully capture of the KC-X and production of the KC-767 tanker.

Jean Chamberlin will be assigned as vice president and general manger of A&T.

The group will face serious challenges in the future if the KC-X is not won as C-17 production is winding down for the Air Force and the number of overseas sales is not large. There continues to be support in Congress to keep the C-17 going and if the KC-X contract does go to another source that pressure will only increase.

Good Luck to Ms. Chamberlin in her new job.

EADS Supports Bid For KC-X

Matthew Potter — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 23:33:39 +0000

It is being reported by various sources that EADS is pressuring Northrop Grumman to go ahead and submit a bid for the new KC-X RFP. Northrop had informed the Government that they planned not to if the terms were not significantly changed. They felt the RFP was favoring Boeing’s cheaper, smaller KC-767 aircraft.

The final RFP came out two weeks ago and still no word from Northrop that they will go ahead and submit something in May. EADS obviously would like another chance to win the contest after they lost the last one to Boeing’s protest in 2008. The $35 billion would go a long way to make up for the lost A400M revenue.

Split Buy Again?

Matthew Potter — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 11:24:38 +0000

One of the solutions that has been mooted to solve the KC-X issue is to buy aircraft from both Boeing (BA) and EADS (EADS.P). This would certainly eliminate many of the issues around the source selection. The Defense Department and Air Force have not supported this idea in the past due to the logistical costs related to operating two dissimilar aircraft. Of course the problem the Air Force faces is that the KC-30 and KC-767 are too dissimilar.

Some in Congress and in the industry suggested the split buy last Summer and now it has been raised again. If Northrop Grumman (NOC) does refuse to submit a bid then the contest is on hold unless there is the will to do a sole source contract again. The split buy would solve that issue and keep Northrop playing.

We will have to see how this plays out.

Coming to a Theater Near You…the Boeing KC-7A7

Boeing United States Tanker — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:43:06 +0000

We are very proud of our 80-year tanker heritage at Boeing. But it’s also very important to show you what the future of air refueling could be. While we have highly capable KC-767 tankers flying in operational squadrons in Japan today and in the future in Italy, it's time we provide a glimpse of our 'family of tankers' operating together.

That’s why we’re thrilled to show you our new video...

When global reach and mission success is critical, the combat-ready KC-7A7 is ready to deliver maximum capability at lowest cost...all on day one.

Enjoy!

Italian KC-767 tanker slips

Matthew Potter — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 01:04:21 +0000

Boeing will face financial penalties from Italy as delivery of their KC-767 tankers have slipped 36 months. Originally planned for a 2005 delivery the first won’t be ready until late 2008. Issues with the pod holding the drogue refueling system and also meeting some of the Italian specific requirements that are set higher then the FAA’s have caused the delays. This will not help with the Boeing bid on the USAF new tanker.

See Bloomberg.com for more.

Boeing’s KC-767 Advanced Tanker Video

Jay — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 17:10:15 +0000

Last week, we gave you Northrop Grumman’s tanker advertisement. This week, also courtesy of YouTube, we give you a video of Boeing’s KC-767 tanker in action.

Boeing and KC-45 in turmoil

Matthew Potter — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 22:03:35 +0000

After meeting with DoD and the US Air Force to discuss the new tanker RFP due to the GAO upholding their protest, Boeing is now saying that without significantly more time to prepare a proposal they may have to drop out. The new schedule is for the Boeing and Northrop Grumman teams to submit by the end of October with a decision before the new calendar year. Boeing is saying that they may need to bid a larger aircraft then the KC-767 proposed last time due to the fuel capacity and range requirements. A variant of the 777 would have to be used. Boeing supposedly is asking for a more then 180 day delay in the submissions. EADS and Northrop Grumman will most likely submit a tweaked version of their original winning proposal.

For more see The Wichita Business Journal and WashingtonPost.com.

Global Warming favors Boeing

Matthew Potter — Mon, 26 May 2008 20:50:53 +0000

According to this article a Washington Democratic Congressman wants to introduce legislation that requires the DoD to evaluate the “green house gas” emissions when awarding defense contracts. If this had been done as part of the KC-45 award, then Boeing would have won as nominally the KC-767 emits less harmful gases then the larger A330. While this is fine and dandy the current prime factor in awarding these types of contracts is best value. What system meets the most requirements at the best value to the US Government. Sometimes environmental considerations should be made, but that should not be the driver of any contract award.

Reaction to the KC-X award

Matthew Potter — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 00:02:09 +0000

Here are some links that are commenting on the win by Northrop Grumman and EADS.

http://www.aero-news.net/ – KC-45A Wins Deal Over Boeing’s KC-767 Note: I think no matter what aircraft was chosen it would be called the KC-45A.

Wichita, KS News on MSNBC – Key phrase from Sen Roberts of KS: “”I am deeply troubled by the Air Force’s decision to award the KC-X tanker to a French company that has never built a tanker in its history. We should have an American tanker built by an American company with American workers. I can not believe we would create French jobs in place of Kansas jobs.”

Seattle Post-Intelligencer – “Tanker award caps tumultuous period” – Good round up of the history of the KC-X program.

Leeham Company LLC Analysis by Scott Hamilton – “Boeing will be out of the tanker business for the next 20-40 years if it loses the KC-45A
award, its spokesman predicted, which helps explain why Boeing is fighting so hard to win the competition.”

Oh yeah, how they feel at Northrop Grummand and EADS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YX5oqEfAydg

Boeing reported as submitting last KC-X proposal

Matthew Potter — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 00:39:31 +0000

Reported here that Boeing submitted their latest, and last, proposal for the KC-X tanker requirement. Boeing had proposed a 767 based solution in the past, but had also mooted a 777 version as well. Competition comes from Airbus, which submitted a variant of the A340 for this RFP. The tanker replacement program has been controversial since 2002, when originally the Air Force planned to just lease 100 or so 767′s to replace the aging KC-135. That idea was rejected by Congress and led to the current competition.