US Airforce selects KC-45A tankers
The Air Force announced today it has selected Northrop Grumman Corp. to build its next-generation air-refueling tanker aircraft. The contract calls for up to 179 new KC-45A tankers to be built over the next decade or so at a cost of around $35 billion. Tanker aircraft are used to refuel other aircraft while in flight.
“This initial contract for the newly named KC-45A will provide significantly greater air refueling capabilities than our current fleet of Eisenhower-era KC-135s,” Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne told reporters at a Pentagon news conference.
The new planes eventually will replace hundreds of aging KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft that were introduced in the late 1950s. If everything goes well, the first test aircraft should be flying by 2010, said Air Force Gen. Arthur J. Lichte, commander of Air Mobility Command based at Scott Air Force Base, Ill. Air Mobility Command provides the U.S. military with passenger, cargo, tanker and other aircraft support.
The Air Force should receive the first group of operational KC-45A aircraft around 2013, Lichte said. Selection of the KC-45A Tanker was announced today by the U.S. Air Force, culminating a multi-year evaluation. The programme award calls for 179 aircraft with an estimated contract value of US$ 40 billion. The initial KC-45A contract for Northrop Grumman covers four System Design and Development aircraft and is valued at US$ 1.5 billion.
The KC-45A Tanker is based on the EADS A330 MRTT (Multi Role Tanker Transport). Its airframe is derived from the popular A330 jetliner produced by EADS’ Airbus Division, of which more than 880 have been ordered worldwide in passenger and freighter configurations.
Selection of the Northrop Grumman KC-30 Tanker by the U.S. Air Force, a system based on EADS’ A330 MRTT (Multi Role Tanker Transport) and designated by the USAF as the KC-45A, has raised some eyebrows.
Hershel “Woody” Williams, West Virginia’s only living Medal of Honor recipient, has expressed his
disappointment at the Defense Department’s decision today to choose a European company instead of the Boeing Company for a contract to build the next generation of air tankers. In a letter to the secretary of the Air Force, Williams expressed “As a Marine who served on Iwo Jima during World War II, it boils my blood every time I see an American flag labeled ‘Made in China,’” he said. “So I am even more dismayed that the Pentagon has chosen a foreign company to make military planes over a good American company.”
Commenting on Boeing executives trying to influence the deal by unethical means, Ken Boehm, Chairman of the National Legal and Policy Center said “The scandal could not have helped Boeing’s bid to build the refueling tankers. It is an injustice to Boeing shareholders that unethical executives put in jeopardy this lucrative contract. Darleen Druyun and Michael Sears have served their prison terms, but the damage to the company and its employees continues. The original tanker deal was a done deal until the National Legal and Policy Center exposed Boeing’s lawbreaking.”
The Airbus-Northrop Grumman partnership had competed against the Boeing Co. for the tanker contract, said Sue C. Payton, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition. Payton cited the transparency of the contracting competition, noting both enterprises had received regular feedback from the Air Force on how they were performing throughout the process.
“Northrop Grumman clearly provided the best value to the government,” Payton said, noting the Airbus-allied group’s plane earned superior marks for mission capability, past performance and in several other categories.
“I would tell you, that, overall, Northrop Grumman did have strong areas in aerial refueling and in airlift,” Payton said. There was “no bias” involved in the awarding of the contract, she emphasized.
Both competitors will be debriefed in coming weeks, Payton said, noting there is an appeal process.
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