DTN News - BRITISH DEFENSE NEWS: RAF's Largest Ever Aircraft Arrives In The UK

DTN News - BRITISH DEFENSE NEWS: RAF's Largest Ever Aircraft Arrives In The UK

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources British MoD

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 20, 2011:

The first of the RAF's future strategic tanker aircraft (FSTA) arrived in the UK for the first time today. The UK's largest ever military aircraft will be known as 'Voyager'.

With a 60m wingspan, and measuring nearly 60m from nose to tail, Voyager, a dual role air-to-air tanker and transport aircraft based around the Airbus A330 airframe, will replace the long-serving VC-10 and Tristar fleet; with the first due in service by the end of

the year.

The new aircraft will bring a considerable capability boost, each able to carry 291 troops over 6,000 miles, and to refuel other aircraft, in flight, from a 100,000 litre reservoir - greater than that of two large petrol tankers.

MOD pictures show the aircraft at the MOD's airfield at Boscombe Down in Wiltshire, which will play host to two of the Voyager aircraft during an intensive programme of testing and trials, set to continue into 2012.

On the ground and in the air, the aircraft will be tested in the refuelling role, with Tornado, Sentry, Typhoon and Hercules aircraft.

Voyager can refuel aircraft at a rate of 5,000 litres per minute; a standard garage forecourt petrol pump delivers fuel at around 40 litres per minute.

Fourteen Voyager aircraft and a complete support package are being provided to the RAF under a 27 year £10.5bn Private Finance Initiative contract signed with the AirTanker consortium in 2008.

In addition to the aircraft, the package will provide training and maintenance, and new purpose-built buildings at RAF Brize Norton, the RAF's air transport hub.

Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, Peter Luff, commented:

"The arrival of the first Voyager aircraft in the UK marks an important milestone in the process that will see the Royal Air Force equipped with the best available air-to-air refuelling capability, with the first due in service by the end of the year.

"Recent events in Libya and the ongoing requirement for air-to-air refuelling over Afghanistan, clearly demonstrate the essential role that air-to-air refuelling plays in getting our aircraft to where they are needed."

Air Officer Commanding 2 Group, responsible for combat support, Air Vice Marshal Phil Osborn, said:

"As we have seen over the last few weeks, an effective tanker and transport force is an essential ingredient to this era of expeditionary warfare.

"Over the next few years Voyager will join the versatile A400M transport, C-17 strategic airlifter, and well-proven Hercules transport aircraft to form an RAF fleet that can handle any task that comes its way in the future. I look forward to a successful trials programme that will keep the aircraft on track for delivery at the earliest opportunity."

Pictures/Photography:

The first RAF Voyager transport and tanker aircraft touches down at Boscombe Down in Wiltshire (Qinetiq).

First Airbus A330-200 to have been converted into an RAF Voyager (stock image: Airbus Military).

Photomontage depicting an RAF Voyager refuelling two RAF Typhoon aircraft in flight (Picture: Airbus Military).

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DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: A First Flight Of The A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport For Saudi Arabia

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: A First Flight Of The A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport For Saudi Arabia

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Airbus

(NSI News Source Info) PARIS, France - March 18, 2011:

Airbus Military’s A330-based aerial refuelling programme marked a new milestone as the first A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) for the Royal Saudi Air Force completed its maiden flight on 15 March.

The aircraft now enters its final certification and qualification phase for this version of the A330 MRTT, leading to contractual delivery later in the year. A second A330 MRTT for the Royal Saudi Air Force is now being converted to its tanker configuration at Airbus Military’s Getafe facility near Madrid, Spain, and a third will enter the process during 2011.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Airbus

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DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Pentagon Decision On Refueling Tanker To Come This Week?

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Pentagon Decision On Refueling Tanker To Come This Week?

**Boeing and EADS submitted final revised proposals to the Air Force earlier this month for $35 billion contract.

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Josh Cable - Industry Week

(NSI News Source Info) - February 22, 2011:

The final chapter of a nearly decade-long transatlantic drama soon may be coming to a close.

U.S. Department of Defense Comptroller Robert Hale, during a Feb. 14 briefing on the agency's fiscal 2012 budget request, said the Pentagon will pick a winner in the KC-X aerial refueling tanker competition "within a month or so." Some media outlets are reporting that the verdict could come as early as this week. Chicago-based Boeing and Paris-based EADS, the parent company of Airbus, are fighting for an approximately $35 billion contract to replace the Air Force's aging fleet of aerial refueling tankers. The Air Force's current fleet of Boeing KC-135 tankers dates back to the Eisenhower days. Boeing is proposing to build a fleet of its "NewGen" 767s, while EADS is proposing to build a fleet of A330-based KC-45s. The two aerospace giants submitted revised final bids Feb. 10, at the request of the Air Force, and fired a last round of salvos at one another. Boeing asserted that its proposal will save U.S. taxpayers "up to $36 billion in lifecycle costs" compared with the EADS proposal. "Our NewGen tankers will be built using a proven low-risk, inline manufacturing approach similar to the highly successful 737-based Navy P-8A, by an already trained and highly experienced U.S. workforce at existing Boeing facilities that have delivered more than 2,000 tankers and 1,000 commercial 767s," said Jim Albaugh, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. EADS, meanwhile, asserted in a news release that the aircraft and refueling systems proposed by Boeing "have never been built, flown or tested." "We're offering a real aircraft that has proven what it can do for our men and women in uniform, not asking the Air Force and U.S. taxpayers to take a huge gamble on an airplane that only exists on paper," said Ralph Crosby Jr., chairman of EADS North America. Funding Uncertainty Should Not Affect Program Hale said the Defense Department is asking for $900 million for KC-X tankers in its fiscal 2012 budget request. He also said he did expect the uncertainty surrounding the defense budget -- the DOD has been operating under a continuing resolution for nearly half a year -- to have any impact on funding the KC-X program. "If we are under a [continuing resolution] -- and I hope we're not -- then the Air Force would have to reprioritize within its [research, development, test and evaluation] funding in order to find the money for the initial contract," Hale said. "But I think they will do that, so I don't anticipate the [continuing resolution] will affect the KC-X contract award." The protracted tanker bidding has been full of twists and turns, including several contract awards that have been reversed. The Defense Department last awarded the contract to a joint proposal from Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman and EADS in 2008, but Boeing's protest persuaded the agency to launch a new bidding competition.

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DTN News: Analyst Sees US Tanker Contest As Last For Decades

DTN News: Analyst Sees US Tanker Contest As Last For Decades

* Air Force still sees contract award this fall * Further orders likely to be deferred, analyst says * Tanker orders a "drop in bucket" for EADS and Boeing Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Reuters

(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - October 20, 2010: The U.S. Air Force once planned to replace its aging fleet of KC-135 refueling tankers in three phases, but budget pressures may make its current competition for 179 planes the last for decades, defense analyst Rebecca Grant said in a new report on Tuesday.

"No one in Washington is saying it yet, but KC-X may end up being the only tanker competition," Grant wrote in the report. "Even if the U.S. buys more than the 179 tankers in KC-X, those buys are two decades away."

The U.S. Air Force expects to award a winner-take-all contract valued at up to $50 billion to either Boeing Co (BA.N) or the U.S. unit of Europe's EADS (EAD.PA) this autumn, in other words sometime by Dec. 21.

"It's still the fall," said spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Wesley Miller. He had no immediate comment on Grant's suggestion that additional orders could be decades away.

Grant, whose work is supported by several defense companies including EADS, said it was increasingly likely that the Air Force's future tanker fleet would consist of some KC-135s, KC-10s, and the new KC-X planes that it plans to buy soon.

The next two planned phases would likely be deferred for some time given the global recession, high outlays in Iraq and the Air Force's failure to "restock its fighters and bombers in numbers needed."

Grant's study looked at the importance of the Air Force tanker replacement program, saying it was an "absolute military necessity" for the United States, but the orders amounted to "something close to a drop in the bucket" for both Boeing and EADS -- in comparison with their total commercial sales.

"KC-X won't be central in keeping either company in business -- not by a long shot," she said. "While it's a prize, the ultimate health of both firms and the prospects for their employees and supply chain partners do not depend on KC-X."

Grant analyzed several notional tankers that added 15 percent, 25 percent or 35 percent to the KC-135's current fuel load, concluding that a plane with more fuel available would offer a qualitative advantage in any mission that involved a long loiter period or the need to refuel a big airplane.

She said a plane with 35 percent more fuel than the current KC-135 would allow the Air Force to use just four tankers, rather than five, which could offer significant savings.

EADS argues that its larger A330-based tanker would offer advantages to the Air Force since it can carry more fuel, passengers and cargo, while Boeing says its smaller 767-based tanker would be cheaper, burning 24 percent less fuel than the bigger Airbus.

Grant did not explicitly favor one plane over the other in her study, but said a KC-X tanker with greater capacity could better accomplish longer missions, creating "very useful force sizing and utilization options" for the Air Force.

She said it was critical to replace the current KC-135 tankers soon, before they needed another round of significant structural overhauls, noting that the cost to maintain the oldest of those planes could rise to $6 billion per year.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

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DTN News: Northrop Threatens To Pull Out of KC-X Race

DTN News: Northrop Threatens To Pull Out of KC-X Race *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON, USA - December 3, 2009: Northrop Grumman has told Pentagon acquisition chief Ashton Carter it will not bid for a multibillion-dollar U.S. Air Force aerial tanker contract unless major changes are made to the rules governing the competition. The KC-45 tanker won a contract in February 2008 to build 179 planes for the U.S. Air Force, but Boeing challenged the award and the GAO overturned it four months later. (Northrop Grumman) Pentagon officials fired back hours later, vowing to resist altering the rules to meet a competitor's wishes and saying they have run the new competition "right down the middle." Northrop President and CEO Wes Bush, in a Dec. 1 letter to Carter, said if the Pentagon wants the company and its European partner, EADS, to compete, defense officials must make "meaningful changes" to the draft request for proposals (RfP) for the KC-X program. "Absent a responsive set of changes in the final RfP, Northrop Grumman has determined it cannot submit a bid for the KC-X program" Bush wrote in the letter. A Northrop spokesman said Bush complained to Carter, the military's top weapons buyer, because Air Force tanker buyers failed to respond to Northrop's concerns that the draft RfP was stacked in favor of Northrop's rival, Boeing. "It is Northrop's expectation that DoD will modify" the RfP, said company spokesman Randy Belote. A final RfP was expected by Nov. 30, but has not yet been issued. The Air Force is expected to award a contract to Boeing or Northrop next summer for 179 planes. The contract could be worth $35 billion. In a Nov. 4 letter, Bush asked that Northrop's list of concerns - which already have been transmitted to the Pentagon - be addressed in a revamped draft RfP. The Air Force replied that the department has informed Northrop that it is sticking with the original draft. Bush said the company is concerned that the evaluation criteria outlined in the draft RfP give a "clear preference" to a smaller plane with "limited multirole capability." The Northrop-EADS KC-330 is larger than Boeing's expected entrant, the KC-767. The former also offers more cargo- and passenger-hauling capacity. The Air Force's solicitation - written along with the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) - also would place on Northrop, Bush told Carter, "contractual and financial burdens ... that we simply cannot accept." "This second draft RfP is fundamentally different from what the Air Force said it wanted and needed 18 months ago," Belote said. "The requirement has not changed, but what the Air Force is asking for has changed fundamentally. How did that happen?" In a statement issued several hours later, the Pentagon said it "regrets that Northrop Grumman and Airbus have taken themselves out of the tanker competition and hope they will return when the final RfP is issued." EADS is the parent company of Airbus. The DoD statement reiterated defense officials administration-bridging desire for a true competition, but added the Pentagon and Air Force "cannot compel the two airplane makers to compete." DoD said both Northrop-EADS and Boeing have suggested RfP changes "that would favor their offering," but added the department "will not change the war fighter requirements for the tanker to give advantage to either competitor." The statement repeats Obama administration officials' months-old claim that they have orchestrated this latest attempt at buying new tankers "right down the middle." DoD said a final RfP likely will be released in January. Northrop-EADS was expected to again compete against Boeing to build new flying gas stations are slated to replace the military's aging KC-135 tankers. The Bush administration in late February 2008 picked the Northrop-EADS plane over the favored Boeing aircraft, a contract award the latter quickly protested. The contract award was axed that June when the Government Accountability Office determined the Air Force-run competition was flawed. That followed an embarrassing failed attempt earlier this decade to lease KC-767s from Boeing. Many defense experts, because of that scandal, have stressed the importance of two competitors squaring off for the massive contract. A sole-source contract award could be politically damaging to the military and the White House, experts said. Northrop appears ready to take advantage of this. In the Dec. 1 letter, Bush tells the DoD acquisition chief that Northrop brass "are aware of how important it is to the credibility of the ultimate KC-X tanker award that it be arrived at competitively." The threat to pull out of the KC-X race will surely be seen by many in the global defense community as an attempt to force OSD and the Air Force into altering the rules and evaluation criteria spelled out in the draft RfP. Bush added that Northrop officials will soon begin notifying its 200 KC-330 supplier firms that the Northrop-EADS team will not compete for the U.S. Air Force contract. Bush's letter leaves the door open for a Northrop-EADS bid: "It is my hope that the department will modify its approach to this procurement in a way that will enable us to offer our product for your consideration."

Royal Air Force’s New £13 Billion Tankers Take Shape

Royal Air Force’s New £13 Billion Tankers Take Shape

(NSI News Source Info) February 26, 2009: A major milestone was reached today as the first set of wings for the RAF's advanced new fleet of tanker aircraft left Airbus UK's Broughton plant in North Wales. The wings were loaded onto a giant Beluga aircraft to transport them to the Toulouse-based production facility where the new tanker aircraft will be assembled. Air Tanker Consortium comprised of Rolls-Royce, EADS, Cobham and Thales were confirmed as bidder most likely to offer a value for money solution. It is believed that Air Tanker are proposing the A330-200 aircraft as the FSTA platform. Some analysts predict an FSTA fleet of about 10 aircraft. The Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) is planned to replace the air-to-air refuelling (AAR) and some elements of air transport (AT) capability currently provided by the RAF’s fleet of VC10 and TriStar aircraft. The wings are destined for the first of 14 A330-200 based tanker aircraft ordered last year under an innovative £13 billion contract with the AirTanker consortium. The Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) will replace the RAF's long-serving fleet of VC-10 and Tristar tankers, undertaking a range of transport and air refuelling tasks. Witnessing the wings leaving Broughton, Minister for Defence Equipment and Support Quentin Davies said: "Today's wing ceremony marks a significant stage in the life of the Future Strategic Air Tanker and is good news for the RAF and good news for industry and UK jobs. These state-of-the-art tanker aircraft will provide an important contribution to operations, enabling the RAF to continue its essential air to air refuelling tasks, as well as providing more reliable and economical transport for our personnel, delivering them to the heart of our operations around the world." While the basic aircraft will be assembled in Toulouse, there will be significant input into manufacture in the UK with the programme creating up to 600 jobs in the UK, as well as directly sustaining up to 3000 and indirectly a further 4500. Rolls-Royce at Derby is assembling the Trent 700 engines with technical support from its Filton plant, Airbus UK at Broughton and GKN Filton are involved in wing production, Cobham at Wimborne and Bournemouth is installing refuelling equipment and carrying out related conversion work, and Thales UK at Crawley, Raynes Park and Wells supplies simulators, defensive aids, avionics and mission planning systems. Notes to Editors: 1. The FSTA (Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft) cabin will be able to transport up to 290 personnel and the cargo hold 44 tonnes of payload. The aircraft represents a significant advance in capability over its predecessors, with improved reliability, performance and economy. 2. In its air-to-air refuelling role it will have the ability to offload 60 tonnes of fuel 1000 miles from base, and remain on station for 2 hours. 3. The £13Bn PFI contract will allow AirTanker to operate the aircraft on commercial tasks when not required for military duties. RAF crews will operate the aircraft on military duties, together with some Sponsored Reservists employed by the contractor. The contract was signed on 27 March 2008 4. The 27 year contract covers all aspects of the operation, including the provision of new infrastructure, currently being constructed at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, which will be the fleet's main operating base. 5. The AirTanker consortium comprises Cobham, EADS, Rolls-Royce, Thales and VT Group. The Airbus Military division of EADS will be responsible for designing, developing and converting the tankers and for delivering the completed aircraft to AirTanker. 6. For further information please contact the following Tim Lewis, Defence Equipment & Support Press Office, 0117 913 0526 tim.lewis684@mod.uk; Sqn Ldr Al Green, MOD Press Office, 020 7218 7950 al.green633@mod.uk; Mary Ann Griffiths, AirTanker, 01993 847804 maryann.griffiths@airtanker-services.co.uk

DTN News: Aircraft Lessor DAE Capital Signs Firm Order for 100 Airbus Aircraft

DTN News: Aircraft Lessor DAE Capital Signs Firm Order for 100 Airbus Aircraft (NSI News Source Info) PARIS - July 16, 2008: DAE Capital, the aircraft leasing and financing division of Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), has signed a firm contract for the purchase of 30 Airbus A350-900 and 70 Airbus A320 aircraft.

The contract follows a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed at the Dubai air show in November 2007.

DAE Capital aims to become a leading lessor based in the Middle East. DAE Capital’s parent company DAE is a fast developing global aerospace company with activities including airport development and operations, engineering, manufacturing and services.

“DAE Capital has built a business from ground-up and has made impressive progress since its launch. With our industry-experienced management team and well-defined road map DAE Capital will become one of the top leasing companies globally,” stated Bob Genise, CEO of DAE Capital.

“DAE’s order is a tremendous endorsement of our aircraft products and in Airbus and we thank them for this. The A350 XWB and the A320 products are leaders in their class. Airbus looks forward to building on this partnership in the years to come,” said Tom Enders, Airbus President and CEO.

The A320 Family, which includes the A318, A319, A320 and A321, is recognized as the benchmark single-aisle aircraft family. Each aircraft features fly by wire controls and all share a unique cockpit and operational commonality across the range.

Around 6,200 Airbus A320 Family aircraft have been sold and more than 3,500 delivered to some 280 customers and operators worldwide, making it the worlds best selling commercial jetliner ever.

With proven reliability and extended servicing periods, the A320 Family has the lowest operating costs of any single aisle aircraft. Uniquely, the A320 Family offers a containerized cargo system, which is compatible with the world-wide standard wide-body system.

The A350 XWB (Xtra Wide-Body) Family is Airbus’ response to widespread market demand for a series of highly efficient medium-capacity long-range wide-body aircraft.

With a range of up to 8,300 nm / 15,400 km, it is available in three basic passenger versions: the A350-800 accommodating 270 passengers, the A350-900 seating 314, and the A350-1000 for 350 passengers in a typical three-class layout.

The A350 has the widest fuselage in its category, offering unprecedented levels of comfort, the lowest operating costs and lowest seat mile cost of any aircraft in this market segment.

Powered by two new generation Rolls Royce Trent XWB engines delivering each up to 92,000 lbs of thrust, the A350 XWB Family is designed to confront the challenges of high fuel prices, rising passenger expectations, and environmental concerns.

Orders for the aircraft stand at more than 350 from over 20 customers. Airbus is an EADS company.