DTN News: Boeing Statement On Potential Extension Of Deadline For Submission Of KC-X Tanker Proposals

DTN News: Boeing Statement On Potential Extension Of Deadline For Submission Of KC-X Tanker Proposals Source: DTN News / Boeing

(NSI News Source Info) ST. LOUIS, - April 2, 2010: The U.S. Department of Defense on March 31 said it will extend the deadline to receive proposals in the U.S. Air Force KC-X Tanker competition from May 10 to July 9 if European Aeronautic Defence and Space (EADS) makes a formal request for an extension. The Boeing Company today responded with the following statement: “We are deeply disappointed with EADS-Airbus efforts to further delay this vital warfighting program and tilt the U.S. procurement process in its favor. EADS-Airbus has been fully engaged in the competition for four years and was always expected to provide the vast majority of its team’s work content. “We welcome the denial of EADS’s repeated requests to alter U.S. warfighting requirements, and we support the Air Force’s stated intent to provide a level playing field for qualified competitors. We do not see a legitimate reason for EADS’s bid deadline extension request, and we believe an extension that favors any individual competitor does not further the goal of ensuring fair competition. “Boeing remains fully prepared to submit a competitive proposal by the May 10 deadline originally set by the Air Force. However, this latest development, along with the World Trade Organization’s recent final ruling that Airbus has been heavily and illegally subsidized for decades, requires Boeing to review all of our options for going forward while we wait for a final determination on a deadline extension.”

DTN News: Boeing Statement On Release of KC-X Tanker Draft Request For Proposal

DTN News: Boeing Statement On Release of KC-X Tanker Draft Request For Proposal *Source: DTN News / Boeing (NSI News Source Info) ARLINGTON, Va., - September 28, 2009: The Boeing Company Sept. 25, 2009 received the Draft Request for Proposal document for the KC-X Tanker competition from the U.S. Air Force, and released the following statement: Boeing invented boom refueling 60 years ago, and has since built and delivered more than 2,000 of the best aerial refueling tankers in the world, setting the global standard for tanker refueling and continuing to push the leading edge of refueling technology. So when the United States put out the request for a new tanker, Boeing gathered all of its tanker know-how into one place: the new KC-7A7 tanker. "Our next step is to conduct a detailed review of the document. We want to understand how requirements will be defined and prioritized and how the proposals will be evaluated. That information will help us decide which plane to offer or whether to offer both planes. We appreciate that there will be frequent, open discussion with the U.S. Air Force as we go forward. Both the Air Force and the American taxpayer will benefit from the tanker options we can offer. Boeing has a KC-7A7 'family of tankers' available to meet the warfighter's requirements. Whether it's the agile, flexible 767-based tanker or the large 777-based tanker, Boeing will deliver a combat-ready tanker with maximum capability at the lowest cost." More information on the KC-7A7 is available at www.unitedstatestanker.com

DTN News: Northrop Grumman, Boeing Eager To Resume Tanker War ~ Northrop Grumman Win Could Mean 1,500 Jobs For Mobile

DTN News: Northrop Grumman, Boeing Eager To Resume Tanker War ~ Northrop Grumman Win Could Mean 1,500 Jobs For Mobile *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) LOS ANGELES, USA - August 31, 2009: With a new round of competition set to begin in the next couple of weeks, officials with Northrop Grumman Corp. and Boeing Co. said they're eager to resume their battle for the U.S. Air Force's refueling tanker contract. "This is a big one. And it's a big one for both sides," said Paul Meyer, head of Los Angeles-based Northrop's tanker program. "We're ready to get to it." Top Air Force officials said last week they hope to reopen bidding on the potential $40 billion contract soon after lawmakers return to Washington, D.C., from their summer recess. Congress is scheduled to reconvene Sept. 8. The stakes could not be much higher. New tankers are the Air Force's top priority, and the contract ranks among the biggest ever awarded by the Pentagon. For Mobile, a win by Northrop and its bidding partner, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., would bring construction of a $600 million, 1,500-worker aircraft production plant. For Chicago-based Boeing, a win would secure thousands of aircraft assembly jobs in Washington state and Kansas, both hard-hit by the economic downturn. It also would keep the company's lock on the Air Force tanker business, a franchise it has held for nearly 50 years, and deal a blow to archrival Airbus. Airbus, an EADS subsidiary, has announced plans to add assembly of commercial A330 freighters in Mobile, contingent on winning the tanker work. The facility would give Airbus a long-sought foothold on U.S. soil and establish a Southern center of aircraft production to rival Boeing's operations in the Pacific Northwest. "This competition is a top priority for Boeing," said spokesman Bill Barksdale. "It's significant because we feel it is a long-term business for us, and we want to keep it." Northrop and Boeing waged a fierce, politically charged contest for the contract last year. Northrop, offering a larger, more capable tanker based on an Airbus A330 jet, shocked observers by beating Boeing and its smaller KC-767, which had been heavily favored to win. The contract for 179 planes was designed to be the first of three phases to replace the Air Force's aging fleet of more than 500 KC-135 Stratotankers, which average nearly 50 years in service and are becoming increasingly costly to operate. The deal unraveled last fall after federal auditors, acting on a protest filed by Boeing, found problems with the way the Air Force conducted its evaluation. That led Defense Secretary Robert Gates to order a new competition beginning this year. Since then, both the companies and the Air Force have been preparing for the rematch. "A lot of people are working very hard on this to make sure that this is done perfectly right," said David Van Buren, the Air Force's top acquisition official. "Right now, we're in a period of reviewing all of the documentation and making sure that it meets everybody's expectations." Van Buren said he anticipates that the Pentagon will release a draft version of its request for bids "after the Hill reconvenes after Labor Day." Under that timeline, a final version of the bidding criteria would be issued by January, and a winner would be selected next summer. Gates and Air Force Secretary Michael Donley remain committed to a winner-take-all contest, even as a proposal to split the order continues to circulate through Congress. "I think if (a dual buy) is structured in a way that saves costs, you could see support for it," said U.S. Rep. Artur Davis, D-Birmingham. Davis added that a compromise may be the only way to break a political stalemate between the two rival teams. "Otherwise, we'll be right back in this mess two years from now. And we can't wait that long for a modern tanker." Meyer, a former fighter pilot now known as Northrop's "Mr. Tanker," said he's eager to get back into the ring with Boeing. "They didn't believe we were a serious contender in the first round. Now they know," he said. "I think they'll sharpen their offer, just as we will. We'll both play hard, and we'll both bring out the best we've got. And when you get that kind of vigorous competition, the Air Force should be the beneficiary."

DTN News: Boeing Pitches 777 Tanker; Labels New USAF Bid 7A7

DTN News: Boeing Pitches 777 Tanker; Labels New USAF Bid 7A7

*Source: Defense Media / Boeing (NSI News Source Info) PARIS, France - June 17, 2009: Boeing is preparing to offer either the 777 or the 767 airframes when it rebids the U.S. tanker contest, the company said June 15. Speaking at the Paris Air Show, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) president and CEO Jim Albaugh said he expected to see a request for proposals (RFP) this summer for the new U.S. Air Force tanker competition. Boeing held a dedicated tanker briefing Tuesday (June 16) to add detail to the announcement Monday by IDS President Jim Albaugh, who said the company’s tanker program has been remained KC-7A7. This designation reflects the ambiguity of what airplane Boeing will offer: a 767-based or a 777-based aircraft. "I expect it will not have nearly as many requirements as the last one," he said. Boeing lost out on the last hotly competed tanker contest to a joint bid by Northrop Grumman and EADS that was based on the Airbus A330 airframe. But Boeing protested that contest, and the following Government Accountability Office report lambasted the Air Force for how it ran the contest. As a result, the order was cancelled and a new competition is being run between the rival manufacturers. Albaugh said that Boeing would decide which aircraft to bid once it had seen the RFP. Meanwhile, it has renamed its tanker program the KC-7A7. Asked what the 'A' stood for, he was vague, but said that if the media wanted to pick a word, they could use "advanced."