Tanker Contract

[Firebird]

Do we get the gaffer tape free ??

After protracted negotiations It has been agreed the the RAF can lease the gaffer tape at preferential rates.

[ronniegj]

The fight is not over, and EADS has a new web site to press it's case.

http://www.kc45now.com

Ron

[Firebird]

Hands up all those that think that they will win the contract!

I have heard several rumours, obvious unconfirmed and completely untrue, that this is being done as part of a deal over the WTO case against Airbus. 'Give the Boeing win legitimacy and we will go easy on you sort of thing'.

Like I said, completely untrue of course.

[maddog65]

A new Wrench into the bidding process.....
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/20 ... x-bid.html

US company partners with Antonov in surprise KC-X bid
By Stephen Trimble

A new US company has entered the race for the US Air Force KC-X contract with a bid based on Ukrainian-built Antonov series airlifters.

A 1 July regulatory filing by the publicly-traded US Aerospace Inc. confirms the firm intends to bid in response to the USAF request for proposals for KC-X.

The filing document says US Aerospace will submit three models of Antonov aircraft - An-124-KC, An-122-KC and An-112-KC - before the KC-X bidding deadline on 9 July. The aircraft will be assembled in the US, but built in the Ukraine.

"We believe that we will be able to offer a superior aircraft at a significantly lower price than other potential bidders," the company says in the 8-K filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The US Aerospace/Antonov adds a dramatic new twist in the already heated competition between the Boeing KC-767 NewGen Tanker and EADS North America KC-45.

Antonov An-124 transports have been leased heavily by the USAF over the past decade to relieve demand on the strategic airlift fleet.

Little is known about the other two Antonov models listed by US Aerospace in the 8-K form. The An-122 is reportedly a two-engine version of the An-124. Meanwhile, an online Wikipedia entry on the An-12 turboprop cites a book reference to a concept for the An-112, which is described as a jet-powered, swept-wing variant of the Soviet Union's 1950s-era response to the Lockheed C-130.

The KC-X bid by US Aerospace is part of a broader strategic cooperation agreement signed with Antonov, according to the 8-K filing.

The agreement also includes bidding for other projects with Antonov aircraft to the Department of Defense, USAF and "licensed US defense contractors". The pact also covers the "sale of Antonov aircraft, products and services in the United States", the 8-K form says.

Antonov is responsible for design, construction and manufacture of aircraft under the agreement.

"We will be responsible for coordinating the bidding process, negotiating and contracting with customers, and coordinating with defense subcontractors for specialized systems," the filing document says.

[Jumpshot724]

The day the USAF purchases a Ukrainian aircraft........

[HorusJ]

A An-124 tanker!?
Whoa!That thing would carry a billion gallons fuel!

[Angry_Anderson]

Well, one thing is true, the Ukrainian aircraft would certainly be less expensive than the Boeing or EADS offering. But then again, Huffy makes some cheap bicycles...but would you want to ride one?

[MIKE JG]

The day the USAF purchases a Ukrainian aircraft........

The day the US relies on Russia to launch our astronauts into space.....


Oh wait....

[tango234]

Hmm, well apparently there are a few problems with the antonov/US industries bid (such as how secure they can keep classified info I think). To be honest against the Boeing and EADS they have no chance imho, but only time will tell.

[maddog65]

And it starts again....
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/20 ... nsive.html

Boeing goes on new KC-X offensive
By Stephen Trimble

Boeing launched a new rhetorical offensive in the KC-X contract battle at Farnborough, reviving old criticisms about its rival's approach to hard envelope protection and non-feedback sidesticks.

Charles Johnson, Boeing vice-president of mobility, charged that the bedrocks of Airbus's cockpit philosophy would place military pilots in danger.

In response, EADS North America, which has proposed an Airbus A330-200 modified into the KC-45 tanker, shot back that the KC-767 NewGen Tanker poses the greater risk to pilot safety.

"Boeing is clearly raising these red-herring issues in an attempt to distract from its lack of a tanker and from the considerable risk it is offering the [US] Air Force by proposing a tanker that only exists on paper," EADS NA says.

The new debate aggravated the rhetoric on both sides of the debate, which had previously been mostly characterised by bickering over fuel capacity and commercial aircraft subsidies.

In marketing videos, Boeing had boasted about how the KC-767 is designed to give pilots full control to manoeuvre the aircraft in any situation, such as dodging a missile attack.

But company officials had so far refrained from directly criticising the Airbus hard envelope protection system, which is designed to limit the pilot's ability to manoeuvre the aircraft beyond preset limits.

The KC-767, by contrast, gives the pilot "complete, full access to the aircraft envelope", Johnson says, adding: "The pilot can always override" limits set by the flight controls.

"You want to be able to make [certain manoeuvres] and not always be limited," Johnson says.

EADS NA says that pilots in the A330 multi-role tanker transport - on which the KC-45 is based - are not limited to making any manoeuvre that they would need in combat.

Johnson also criticises the Airbus use of sidesticks that provide no feedback response to pilots. Boeing yokes are back-driven, allowing the pilot to feel a response from the flight controls even in a fly-by-wire aircraft.

"Boeing's condemnations of fly-by-wire technology are puzzling, given its extensive use of the same technology in many of its own military aircraft, and the air force's use of sidestick in some of its most successful aircraft," EADS NA says.