TANKER USAF - Appels d'offres

Boeing will bid 767-based tanker

Boeing will propose a 767-based tanker for the U.S. Air Force's aerial refueling tanker request for proposals, the company announced Thursday.
"Having supplied tankers to the Air Force for the past 60 years, Boeing has drawn on its unmatched aerial-refueling experience to thoroughly review and evaluate the KC-X (tanker) solicitation issued by the Air Force," Dennis Muilenburg, president and chief executive of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, said in a news release. "We respect and understand the KC-X requirements, and appreciate the importance of this program for the United States and its warfighters. We intend to bid for the honor to work with our Air Force customer to replace the existing fleet of KC-135 aircraft with a new-generation, multi-role tanker in a fair and transparent acquisition process."
The announcement contains two bits of unsurprising news: That Boeing will bid and that it will offer a 767-based tanker instead of its larger 777-based one. The Air Force's request clearly favors the smaller plane.
Boeing said it "studied the mission requirements closely to determine the optimal airframe size that would deliver the most capability for the lowest cost to own and operate. The result was the NewGen Tanker, a widebody, multi-mission aircraft based on the proven Boeing 767 commercial aircraft, updated with the latest and most advanced technology and capable of fulfilling the Air Force's needs for transport of fuel, cargo, passengers and patients."
Boeing said it chose the "NewGen" name because the tanker "includes several state-of-the-art systems to meet the demanding mission requirements of the future." It gave two examples:

• A digital flight deck with electronic displays taken from the 787 Dreamliner, showing attitude, navigation, engine indication and crew-alerting information on screens 75 percent larger than on a commercial Airbus A330 (the basis for the competing Northrop Grumman-EADS tanker);
  
• A new-generation fly-by-wire boom with an expanded refueling envelope and increased fuel offload rate;
  

Boeing said it "is the only team in the KC-X competition that has invented, manufactured and delivered combat-tested aerial refueling booms," although an EADS A330-based tanker has refueled jets using its boom.
Taking another shot at the Airbus-based tanker, Boeing said its plane "will be controlled by the aircrew, which has unrestricted access to the full flight envelope for threat avoidance at any time, rather than allowing computer software to limit combat maneuverability."

Boeing will propose a 767-based Air Force aerial refueling [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] on May 10, the company announced Thursday.
"Having supplied tankers to the Air Force for the past 60 years, Boeing has drawn on its unmatched aerial-refueling experience to thoroughly review and evaluate the KC-X (tanker) solicitation issued by the Air Force," Dennis Muilenburg, president and chief executive of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, said in a news release. "We respect and understand the KC-X requirements, and appreciate the importance of this program for the United States and its warfighters. We intend to bid for the honor to work with our Air Force customer to replace the existing fleet of KC-135 aircraft with a new-generation, multi-role tanker in a fair and transparent acquisition process."
The announcement, coming a week after the Air Force [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] its final tanker request for proposals, contains two bits of unsurprising news: That Boeing will bid and that it will offer a 767-based tanker instead of its larger 777-based one. The Air Force's request clearly favors the smaller plane.
Boeing said it "studied the mission requirements closely to determine the optimal airframe size that would deliver the most capability for the lowest cost to own and operate. The result was the NewGen Tanker, a widebody, multi-mission aircraft based on the proven Boeing 767 commercial aircraft, updated with the latest and most advanced technology and capable of fulfilling the Air Force's needs for transport of fuel, cargo, passengers and patients."
The bigger question is whether a competing Northrop Grumman-EADS team will bid. Before the Air Force released its final request, Northrop officials said they wouldn't bid without conditions they saw as favoring the 767-based tanker over their Airbus A330-based plane.
The final request appears not to have changed those criteria.
"Northrop Grumman continues to work toward a bid/no-bid decision through a thorough analysis of the final RFP and discussions with our tanker teammates," Northrop spokesman Randy Belote said Thursday. "We will announce our decision when the review is completed."

Boeing said it chose the "NewGen" name because the tanker "includes several state-of-the-art systems to meet the demanding mission requirements of the future." Specifically, it said the tanker would have:

• A digital flight deck with electronic displays taken from the 787 Dreamliner, showing altitude, navigation, engine indication and crew-alerting information on screens 75 percent larger than on a commercial A330;
  
• And a new-generation fly-by-wire boom with an expanded refueling envelope and increased fuel offload rate.
  

Boeing took several shots at its competition, saying:

• It "is the only team in the KC-X competition that has invented, manufactured and delivered combat-tested aerial refueling booms," although an EADS A330-based tanker has refueled jets using its boom;
  
• Its tanker "will be controlled by the aircrew, which has unrestricted access to the full flight envelope for threat avoidance at any time, rather than allowing computer software to limit combat maneuverability" (a criticism of the Airbus-based tanker);
  
• It will take "a low-risk approach to manufacturing that relies on existing Boeing facilities in Washington state and Kansas as well as U.S. suppliers throughout the nation, with decades of experience delivering dependable military tanker and derivative aircraft" (the Northrop-EADS tanker would come from an as-yet unbuilt assembly site in Mobile, Ala.);
  
• Its tanker is "more cost-effective to own and operate than the larger, heavier Airbus airplane" and so "will save American taxpayers more than $10 billion in fuel costs over its 40-year service life because it burns 24 percent less fuel";
  
• Its tanker "will support substantially more jobs in the United States than an Airbus A330 tanker that is designed and largely manufactured in Europe."
  

Responding to Boeing's statements, Belote said: "The world's military market continues to speak loudest about which tanker is the most capable and is the best value with the KC-45's sister (Airbus) tanker beating the Boeing 767 tanker in the last five worldwide competitions."
Along with its announcement Thursday, Boeing released a new tanker [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].
"The NewGen Tanker will draw on the experience and talents of an integrated U.S. Tanker Team, including the best of our Boeing defense and commercial businesses and our nationwide supplier network," Jim Albaugh, president and chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said in the release. "It's a proven team and existing infrastructure that is ready to deliver these NewGen Tankers on Day One."
International Association of Machinists District 751 leaders agreed with that sentiment in a statement on the union's [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

Boeing's NewGen tanker is better for America's warfighters, taxpayers and economy, and should be the obvious choice for the U.S. Air Force. It's also the common-sense solution, because the planes would be built in existing factories by our highly skilled and experienced union workers.

We were particularly pleased by Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Jim Albaugh this week, when he promised that our members in Everett, and our brothers and sisters in Wichita, would be getting more work on the tanker than originally anticipated. Obviously, that's good for us, and for our Puget Sound communities. We believe it is good for America, too, because we know that when the world's best aerospace workers are given a challenge, they deliver a product on time, and within budget. Just ask the Navy how we did with the P-8 Poseidon.
This union is fully committed in support of Boeing's bid to provide all 179 tankers. We are actively working on Boeing's behalf, and we stand ready to build America's new-generation tanker here in Puget Sound, just as our union forbearers built the KC-135s some 50 years ago.

In a joint statement Thursday, [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Governors Chris Gregoire of Washington, John Baldacci of Maine, Chet Culver of Iowa, Gary Herbert of Utah, Ted Kulongoski of Oregon, Mark Parkinson of Kansas and Jodi Rell from Connecticut said:

The 767 is a proven model, built at facilities with the world's best workforce, and is more efficient than any model that will be proposed by its competitors. This announcement confirms what the members of the U.S. Tanker 2010 Coalition have been saying -- the Boeing proposal will give our men and women in the military the best tankers at the fairest price to the taxpayer, and will create the most jobs here in America.

Boeing has a history of delivering to the Air Force top quality tankers with incredibly long useful lives. At this time, when we need jobs in this country so badly, buying tankers from a proven vendor that will create or retain over 40,000 America jobs simply makes sense

• la base semblerait être un 767 200
  
• il faudra repenser les ailes
  
• laperche ne sera pas la même que celle des 767s Japonais et Italiens (ces pays là vont être contents)
  
• les risques de retard sont donc importants
  
• ...
  

Boeing’s so-called NewGen Tanker, a 767-based design for the U.S. Air Force KC-X competition, will feature a new refueling boom and a flight deck based on the 787 commercial transport.
Company officials announced this afternoon that the aircraft will be based on a 767, but they declined to say which 767 variant is the departure design. An artist’s concept of the design appears to point to a 767-200.
In a departure from its last KC-X design proposal, Boeing is using the new flight deck, which they say will provide information displays that are 75% larger than the Airbus A330, on which a potential competitor’s design will be based.
A Northrop Grumman/EADS team won the last KC-X competition in February 2008 with the A330-based tanker, which drew from the Multi-role Tanker Transport being built for Australia. But, government auditors found missteps in the Air Force’s source selection and the contract has been terminated in favor of a new competition.
Also a departure in Boeing’s new design is “a new generation fly-by-wire boom with an expanded refueling envelope and increased fuel offload rate,” according to Boeing’s announcement. The refueling boom design is more reminiscent of a KC-10 boom rather than that of the KC-135. It is likely this switch was made to achieve the 1,200 gallon-per-minute offload rate demanded by the final KC-X request for proposals (RFP), which was released by the Air Force on Feb. 24. Boeing’s boom offered in the last competition used a ruddervator structure more like the KC-135 boom, according to pictures, although its exact capabilities were shrouded in mystery.
The wings on this 767-based tanker appear to be significantly longer than a baseline 767-200 commercial model, perhaps a design choice made to address wing flutter issues experienced on the Italian 767 tanker. However, Boeing officials declined to comment on whether the wings, doors, floors and flaps were being pulled from other commercial models.
In the 2007-2008 competition, Boeing’s offering was derided by some as a “Frankentanker” for pulling pieces of its commercial aircraft models into a single new design. This approach was considered by USAF officials to be higher risk at the time.
However, in the forthcoming KC-X competition, all 327 requirements are pass/fail, so this approach may not carry the same stigma as it did before.
Boeing Defense, Space and Security President Dennis Muilenburg says the design will meet all of the 372 pass/fail requirements.
Northrop Grumman/EADS officials have not said yet whether they will bid or back out of the competition as they have threatened. They feel the latest KC-X RFP favors a smaller tanker.

Jeannot a écrit:Un peu plus d'infos sur Aviation Week ou on apprend que

• la base semblerait être un 767 200
  
• il faudra repenser les ailes
  
• laperche ne sera pas la même que celle des 767s Japonais et Italiens (ces pays là vont être contents)
  
• les risques de retard sont donc importants
  

Boeing’s so-called NewGen Tanker, a 767-based design for the U.S. Air Force KC-X competition, will feature a new refueling boom and a flight deck based on the 787 commercial transport.

Oui : "soi-disant" !

Company officials announced this afternoon that the aircraft will be based on a 767, but they declined to say which 767 variant is the departure design. An artist’s concept of the design appears to point to a 767-200.

Oui ; on dirait. Ce serait la caelingue la moins chère à produire ; et là, en présumant que c'est toujours P&W qui fournira les moteurs, cela serait "l'airframe" sur lequel les PW Séries 4000 (PW4062?) aurait le moins de difficulté.

In a departure from its last KC-X design proposal, Boeing is using the new flight deck, which they say will provide information displays that are 75% larger than the Airbus A330, on which a potential competitor’s design will be based.

Que sait Boeing des intentions d'Airbus / NG -EADS ?
Encore du huffing & puffing, ... de "l'intox à la Boeing", indigne, et qui n'apas place à ce stade dans un vrai concus d'appel d'offres internationalm, selon les vraies règles de l'OMC & les vries lois des USA!
......

Also a departure in Boeing’s new design is “a new generation fly-by-wire boom with an expanded refueling envelope and increased fuel offload rate,” according to Boeing’s announcement. The refueling boom design is more reminiscent of a KC-10 boom rather than that of the KC-135. It is likely this switch was made to achieve the 1,200 gallon-per-minute offload rate demanded by the final KC-X request for proposals (RFP), which was released by the Air Force on Feb. 24. Boeing’s boom offered in the last competition used a ruddervator structure more like the KC-135 boom, according to pictures, although its exact capabilities were shrouded in mystery.

Boeing ne les connaissait pas avec précision, non plus !

The wings on this 767-based tanker appear to be significantly longer than a baseline 767-200 commercial model, perhaps a design choice made to address wing flutter issues experienced on the Italian 767 tanker. However, Boeing officials declined to comment on whether the wings, doors, floors and flaps were being pulled from other commercial models.

Boeing ne peut pas s'offrir le risque d'indisposer, à ce stade, ceux qui ont été assez bêtes et insuffisament perspicaces pour acheter leur version initiale de cet avion ravitailleur, véritable monument à l'obsolescence à la technologie de Boeing ! [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir cette image]

In the 2007-2008 competition, Boeing’s offering was derided by some as a “Frankentanker” for pulling pieces of its commercial aircraft models into a single new design. This approach was considered by USAF officials to be higher risk at the time.
However, in the forthcoming KC-X competition, all 327 requirements are pass/fail, so this approach may not carry the same stigma as it did before.

Oui !
Boeing s'adapte aisément & sans le bonheur à la médiocrité, et établit son offre en conséquence ! [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir cette image]

Boeing Defense, Space and Security President Dennis Muilenburg says the design will meet all of the 372 pass/fail requirements.

Pas difficile quand les TOR ont été écrit pout favoriseer à 100% Boeing ! [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir cette image] Ah ! N'exagérons pas ! 99% ! [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir cette image]

Northrop Grumman/EADS officials have not said yet whether they will bid or back out of the competition as they have threatened. They feel the latest KC-X RFP favors a smaller tanker.

[url=http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=defense&id=news/awx/2010/03/04/awx_03_04_2010_p0-209478.xml&headline=Boeing Selects 767 for USAF KC-X Tanker Bid][Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Selects 767 for USAF KC-X Tanker Bid[/url]

Le constructeur aéronautique américain Boeing a sélectionné les moteurs de Pratt and Whitney pour équiper le nouvel avion-ravitailleur qu'il va proposer à l'appel d'offres de l'armée de l'air américaine, indique-t-il dans un communiqué vendredi.

2010 AFP

Even if Boeing is sole bidder for Air Force tanker, it must choose its price carefully

By [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]
Herald Writer


EVERETT — Even if its rival for a lucrative contract drops out, the Boeing Co. will face challenges as it seeks to replace the Air Force's tanker fleet.

Both Boeing and the Air Force still are waiting to hear whether Northrop Grumman plans to submit a bid. Northrop, which teamed up with Europe's EADS for the contest, has said it may not bid on the $35 billion contract if Northrop officials don't think they can win it.

But Boeing still has issues to consider should it wind up as the sole bidder for the contract to replace 179 of the Air Force's aging KC-135 tankers. Its most pressing problem will be one of price.

“Without the threat of being undercut by a competing bid, it could price its offering high to reduce the risks associated with fixed pricing of a development contract,” wrote Loren B. Thompson, a defense analyst with the Lexington Institute, in a briefing on the tanker competition.

The Air Force has proposed a fixed price contract, forcing the competitors essentially to lock in a price over the life of the contract. Although the Pentagon built in a little more pricing flexibility in its final requirements compared with the initial ones, the Air Force still requires a set price.

Defense Deputy Secretary William Lynn expects the defense contractors to have a good grasp on the cost of production. Boeing has been building its 767 commercial jet for 30 years. And the Airbus A330, on which Northrop and EADS' KC-30 tanker is based, has been in production for nearly 20 years. However, Lynn said, the government doesn't expect the defense contractors to be held accountable for wild fluctuations in materials.

Still, should Boeing add in too much padding to its price as the sole bidder, it's likely to find itself in hot water with members of Congress. Lawmakers from Alabama, where Northrop and EADS would assemble their KC-30, will likely scrutinize every penny.

After the Air Force released its requirements in late February, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., alluded to the Boeing scandal that brought down the company's first effort to replace the Air Force's KC-135 fleet. Boeing offered a Pentagon weapons buyer and her family jobs in exchange for steering the tanker deal its way.

“We know from experience that sole-source bidding leads to less capability, more costs and more fraud,” Sessions said.

But Boeing can't bid too low if it doesn't want to turn its tanker contract into a losing proposition for the company.

“Boeing execs will have to think through how to assure the program is profitable without getting more controversy in the bargain,” Thompson wrote.

Pentagon officials say they have a process in mind should Northrop decide to drop out of the tanker contest. Defense officials would prefer Northrop make an announcement whether it will bid soon rather than wait until the bids are due May 10. The Air Force is expected to pick the contest winner later this year.

Boeing’s so-called NewGen Tanker, a 767-based design for the U.S. Air Force KC-X competition, will ­feature a new refueling boom and a flight deck based on the 787 ­airliner.
Company officials say the airframe will be based on a 767, but they decline to say which variant. An artist’s concept appears to point to a 767-200.
In a departure from its last KC-X design proposal, Boeing is using the new flight deck, which officials say will provide information displays that are 75% larger than those on the Airbus A330, on which a potential competitor’s design will be based.
A Northrop Grumman/EADS team won the last KC-X contest in February 2008 with the A330-based tanker, which drew from the Multi-Role Tanker Transport being built for Australia. But government auditors found missteps in the Air Force’s source selection, and the contract was terminated in favor of a new competition.
Also a departure in Boeing’s new design is “a new-generation fly-by-wire boom with an expanded refueling envelope and increased fuel-offload rate,” according to Boeing’s announcement. The refueling boom design is more reminiscent of a KC-10’s than that of the KC-135. It is likely this switch was made to achieve the 1,200 gal.-per-minute offload rate demanded by the final KC-X request for proposals (RFP), which was released by the Air Force on Feb. 24. Boeing’s boom offered in the last competition used a ruddervator structure more like the KC-135 boom, although its exact capabilities were shrouded in mystery.
The wings on this 767-based tanker appear to be much longer than those on a baseline 767-200 commercial model—perhaps a design choice made to address wing-flutter issues experienced on the Italian 767 tanker. However, Boeing officials declined to comment on whether the wings, doors, floors and flaps were being pulled from other commercial models.
In the 2007-08 competition, Boeing’s offering was derided by some as a “Franken­tanker” for pulling pieces of various aircraft into a single new design. USAF officials considered this approach to be higher risk at the time.
However, in the forthcoming KC-X contest, all 372 requirements are pass/fail, so this strategy may not carry the same stigma as it did before.
Boeing Defense, Space and Security President Dennis Muilenburg says the design will meet all of the 372 pass/fail requirements.
Northrop Grumman/EADS has not yet indicated whether it will bid or back out of the competition, as company officials have threatened. They feel the latest KC-X RFP favors a smaller tanker.

Seattle Times: Northrop Grumman won't bid on Air Force tanker
Northrop Grumman will not bid on the U.S. Air Force's aerial refueling [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] request, leaving Boeing as the only bidder, The Seattle Times reported Monday, quoting an unnamed "person familiar with the details."
After the Air Force released its draft tanker request last year, Northrop executives said they wouldn't bid without changes to criteria they saw as favoring Boeing's smaller [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] over the Northrop-EADS team's Airbus A330-based plane. The final [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] that the Air Force released last week did not appear to change these criteria.
The Times' source said Northrop executives concluded the contract's fixed-price requirements made a low bid that could beat Boeing too risky and that Northrop would announce its decision after the market closes Monday. Northrop spokesman Randy Belote could not immediately be reached for confirmation or comment.

Jeannot a écrit:N/G renoncerait à répondre au RFP.

Seattle Times: Northrop Grumman won't bid on Air Force tanker
Northrop Grumman will not bid on the U.S. Air Force's aerial refueling [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] request, leaving Boeing as the only bidder, The Seattle Times reported Monday, quoting an unnamed "person familiar with the details."
After the Air Force released its draft tanker request last year, Northrop executives said they wouldn't bid without changes to criteria they saw as favoring Boeing's smaller [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] over the Northrop-EADS team's Airbus A330-based plane. The final [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] that the Air Force released last week did not appear to change these criteria.
The Times' source said Northrop executives concluded the contract's fixed-price requirements made a low bid that could beat Boeing too risky and that Northrop would announce its decision after the market closes Monday. Northrop spokesman Randy Belote could not immediately be reached for confirmation or comment.

EADS peut-elle (doit-elle) répondre de son coté ?

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

Reaction to Northrop tanker pullout

Here is reaction to Northrop Grumman's [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Monday that it would not bid on the Air Force's aerial refueling [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] contract.
Boeing tanker spokesman William Barksdale:

Boeing remains 100 percent focused on the KC-X competition and intends to submit a fully responsive, transparent and competitive proposal that meets the terms the Air Force has announced. As we have in each of the previous rounds of competition, Boeing will offer the most capable tanker and the tanker best suited to begin modernizing the aging KC-135 fleet -- at lower total life cycle cost than any competitor. The Boeing NewGen Tanker will be safe and survivable in combat, will save the American taxpayer $10 billion in fuel costs over its 40-year life, and is American designed and built. The men and women of Boeing are dedicated to getting our aircrews the aircraft they deserve to replace the aging KC-135 fleet.

U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash.:

Today's decision should allow the Defense Department to move forward expeditiously with the replacement of the KC-135 tanker fleet. I believe the Northrop Grumman Corporation has made a prudent decision to forgo responding to the Air Force's request-for-proposals, based on the requirement to replace the KC-135s with an aircraft that fulfills the aerial refueling role in the most cost-effective manner. A tanker based on the A-330 airframe, much larger than the Boeing 767, would clearly have been more costly to purchase, operate and maintain.
After the last flawed attempt to award a tanker contract, I found that the Air Force had not followed requirements approved by the Joint Requirements Oversight Council in evaluating life-cycle costs over a 40-year period. I insisted that a 40-year life-cycle analysis for fuel and military construction be part of the next competition. The added fuel cost alone, based on the 40-year life cycle analysis that now is specified in this procurement, would add billions more to the cost of the Northrop Grumman proposal and, combined with other factors, would likely make winning this 'best-value' competition a very remote possibility. Thus I applaud the Northrop Grumman Corp. for its assessment and its decision not to delay the procurement by submitting a bid and requiring the government to conduct another lengthy competition. The Defense Department already has substantial competitive insight from the last competition. I am confident that they can now utilize their authority to proceed with the procurement of KC-767 tankers as quickly as possible, negotiating a contract that will allow the Air Force to begin replacing its tanker fleet rapidly with modern aircraft that will be more capable and far-less-costly to maintain that half-century-old aircraft. Both the Secretary of Defense and Air Force Secretary Donley have recently stated their confidence in the government's ability, in the absence of a tanker competition, to negotiate a contract that will be cost-effective and that will deliver the best value to the warfighter.

U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash.:

Today's announcement that Northrop Grumman will not bid against Boeing in the aerial refueling tanker competition is a testament to the quality of Washington state aerospace workers. Building these tankers in Northwest Washington will bring much-needed jobs to our corner of the state. We are home to a world-class workforce and I am confident in their ability to build the best equipment for our men and women in uniform.
I will continue to support this workforce by working with my colleagues in Congress to ensure the Pentagon purchases the highest quality tankers for our warfighters at the best value for American taxpayers.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.:

This competition has always been about delivering the best plane for our men and women in uniform at the best price for taxpayers, and today's news doesn't change that. Boeing still must bring a very competitive bid to the table that meets all the requirements the Pentagon has set forth.
This is not a competition between bidders, it's a competition against the requirements. Requirements like providing a tanker that has improved capabilities to meet the modern needs of our military, that can carry the fuel and cargo to meet varied missions, and that provides the best protections to keep our forces safe in every corner of the globe.
I have no doubt that Washington workers are ready to deliver for our service members on all of these requirements. And I am going to work to ensure that in the end this contract serves the taxpayers' best interests.
Washington workers deserve this opportunity. They have delivered a combat ready tanker before and they're ready to do it again. But today's news is by no means the end of the line, and this contract is no slam dunk. It's important to remember that the American people are the customers, and that we drive a hard bargain.
I will continue to work to ensure that this competition moves forward fairly and transparently. American service members and taxpayers deserve nothing less.

U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.:

Today's announcement by Northrup Grumman is a significant development in what has been a long effort to get a new and much needed air refueling tanker to our military. Secretary of Defense Gates has personally assured me that he is going to move ahead with this bidding process regardless of the number of bidders. It appears that as a result of Northrop's decision not to bid on the tanker and not to protest the Pentagon's request for proposal (RFP) that Washington will be the beneficiary of more than 12,000 jobs, with over 50,000 jobs associated with this contract nationwide. The Boeing NewGen Tanker team has nearly 70 suppliers currently on the team. Both of these numbers are expected to grow as Boeing finalizes its offering. Moreover, these are jobs for the long term, as we expect this contract to play out over 20 to 30 years.
We want to get the best price for the taxpayer and the most capable aircraft for the warfighter. The Department of Defense has the ability to make that happen. Under Department of Defense regulations, the Department of Defense is required to get the best value for U.S. taxpayers, even in the case of a single-source contract. That's the law.
The main engineering and manufacturing jobs associated with this contract for Boeing will remain in Washington state. We have the best work force and infrastructure to take on this project. And I believe that the smaller, more versatile plane proposed by Boeing was the better answer to the military's needs. Boeing has already built more than 2,000 tankers over the past 60 years. Because Boeing is already building the military version of the 767 aircraft, Boeing's 767-based tanker fleet will be ready to fight from day one.

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire:

Northrop Grumman's decision to not submit a bid on the tanker project is theirs to make. I urge the Department of Defense to move forward as scheduled to procure the new tankers. The very well publicized and transparent process to finally settle the tanker competition has been fair, open and responsive to all parties.
I applaud Northrop Grumman for deciding not to protest the RFP. My colleagues in the US Tanker 2010 coalition and I have consistently said that the need for a replacement tanker is immediate, even urgent. Northrop's recognition of this urgency and its decision not to needlessly extend the process should be commended.
The Boeing tanker is the right choice for our military and for our country. It is the best choice for our troops, the best deal for taxpayers and will create thousands of jobs here in America.

U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.:

The Air Force had a chance to deliver the most capable tanker possible to our warfighters and blew it. This so–called competition was not structured to produce the best outcome for our men and women in uniform; it was structured to produce the best outcome for Boeing. The Air Force's refusal to make substantive changes to level the playing field shows that once again politics trumps the needs of our military.

Alabama Gov. Bob Riley:

I don't blame Northrop Grumman for refusing to take part in this charade. The Pentagon and White House have made it impossible for any other plane to be competitive. It's disgraceful. If this was not a political decision, then why would the Pentagon intentionally rewrite the specifications from what they originally wanted a year ago? When the Air Force is compelled by politics to select the slower, smaller and older plane, no one can say with a straight face that this is what's best for America or America's warfighters.
Since the RFP was issued, I know how hard Northrop, their partner EADS and the State of Alabama have worked in order to find a way to be competitive. The state even gave additional concessions to make sure we were doing everything we possibly could to be competitive. But ultimately, this decision to select the other aircraft was sealed when the RFP was issued.

Mobile (Alabama) County Commissioner Stephen Nodine:

I am extremely disheartened by Northrop Grumman Corporation's decision today not to bid on the aerial refueling tanker program. The war fighter, the American taxpayers, and the workers of the Gulf Coast have been cast aside in favor of 'Political Protectionism." If we don't continue to fight this movement, our Littoral Combat Ship program at Austal is also in danger.
My primary remorse is for the fighting men and women of this great country whose safety and ability to do their job was not foremost in the decision-making process. I am appalled that our military procurement process has been held hostage by politics but this is indeed what has happened.
Northrop Grumman and its partner EADS won overwhelmingly the fair competition that was held in 2007-2008 and based on a multi-role platform. The KC-45 with its many military capacities would have saved the American taxpayers billions of dollars over the course of the program while at the same time providing our military with a more capable tanker.
But the playing field was blatantly altered in favor of an inferior product. While saddened by their move today, I respect that Northrop has a business decision to make.
Obviously I am hurt that thousands of people in Mobile and along the Gulf Coast will not be put to work building the best tanker for our Air Force. I'm disgusted at the way our southern workers have been treated as second class citizens by organized labor which
fought so hard to protect its power structure at the cost of 48,000 jobs nationwide that the KC-45 program would have supported.
Although I am devastated by today's news, I know that we in Mobile County did everything we could to win this project. We have worked for more than seven years and have been supported all the way by the great citizens of the area who were fully educated and engaged in this issue.
Our hard work has resulted in many positives. We have a wonderful new corporate member of our community in EADS/Airbus. The company is employing hundreds of people at the EADS engineering facility at Brookley Field and at Airbus Military at Bates Field.
We hope the company will continue to grow here.
Our efforts have also helped to put Mobile County on the map when it comes to the aerospace industry. We have made invaluable contacts worldwide which will ultimately pay dividends for the area.
Additionally, we have fostered fantastic relationships across the Gulf Coast. We have worked hand-in-hand with governments, businesses, and citizens of our neighboring states to promote the quality of the entire region to the worldwide aerospace industry.
Going forward, we must continue to fight for our County and region, not only to attract aerospace and other business, but to make certain this tanker procurement fiasco does not play out again. Already organized labor and protectionists are out to corrupt the Littoral Combat Ship procurement. Thousands of jobs at Austal in downtown Mobile are at stake. The entire community must be ready to fight again.
We have great people and a tremendous workforce in Mobile County. I pledge to continue to fight against "Political Protectionism" and the consequences it will have for our military and American workers.

Mobile County Commissioner Mike Dean:

All of Mobile County is upset by the decision today from Northrop Grumman not to participate in the tanker procurement process. It was my hope that as long as Northrop stayed in the game, we had a chance to secure at least a dual buy of tankers.
A competitive dual procurement would have meant 48,000 additional jobs for this nation, many of them along the Gulf Coast. Obviously the current lawmakers in Washington, despite their talk of job creation, are more concerned with protecting certain constituencies.
I called the final request for proposals a "sham" when it was released two weeks ago. I stand by that statement today.
Ultimately it is the men and women of our military who will suffer most - getting a new generation of tankers no more sophisticated than the Eisenhower-era planes flying today. American taxpayers will also be burdened by a sole-source contract to a company whose highest executives were convicted of corruption a few short years ago in this very same tanker procurement process.
I hope people along the Gulf Coast and across the country will be so disgusted by the way that this procurement has been handled that they will demand, at the very minimum, a dual buy.
In the meantime, I would like to encourage EADS to bid on the tanker without its partner. We have formed a wonderful relationship with EADS and Airbus. In Mobile, we already have an EADS engineering center and an Airbus Military facility which works on Coast Guard aircraft. We are confident that Airbus will ultimately be building wide-body jets in Mobile.

Statement from EADS North America on Northrop Grumman’s decision not to bid on the U.S. Air Force KC-X contract

Arlington, Virginia, March 08, 2010

Today EADS North America released the following statement from Ralph D. Crosby, Jr., Chairman of the Board.

“Five years ago EADS partnered with Northrop Grumman, as prime, to pursue the U.S. Air Force KC-135 modernization program. Two years ago our team was selected and awarded the contract. Today Northrop Grumman has decided not to submit a bid to the Department of Defense for the KC-X program.

“As a team, our serious concerns were expressed to the Department of Defense and the U.S. Air Force that the acquisition methodology outlined in the request for proposal (RFP) would heavily weigh the competition in favor of the smaller, less capable Boeing tanker. Northrop Grumman’s analysis of the RFP reaffirmed those concerns and prompted the decision not to bid.

“The source selection methodology clearly signals a preference for a smaller aircraft. This is particularly disappointing given that the Air Force previously selected the A330-based KC-45 because of its added capability, lower risk and best value for both the warfighter and U.S. taxpayer. The Defense Department’s RFP ignores the added combat capability that could be provided to our military and, for the first time, ensures that our allies will operate with superior capability in this vital mission area.

“The A330 multi-role tanker transport is the most capable, low risk tanker in the world today—having been flown, tested and proven. The A330 MRTT has been selected over the Boeing tanker in the last five consecutive competitions and will shortly enter service with several U.S. allies.

“This decision does not diminish our commitment to the U.S., or to its service men and women. The enduring strength of our commitment is reflected in the success of the Army’s Light Utility Helicopter—of which we are prime contractor and that just celebrated its 100th on-schedule delivery. And it also can be seen in the many EADS systems and capabilities that operate with the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard.

“EADS is the largest international customer for U.S. aerospace and defense products, contributing over $11 billion dollars annually to the American economy and supporting more than 200,000 high technology jobs. We remain committed to our U.S. customers, suppliers and the American workforce.

“We express our appreciation to the states and communities in which we do business, and particularly to their elected officials who have been unwavering in their determination to provide the best available capability to the American warfighter.

“We also must acknowledge the support from the leadership of France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain in promoting transatlantic defense cooperation as a two-way street and the interoperability that the KC-45 would offer.”

About EADS North America
EADS North America is the North American operation of EADS, a global leader in aerospace, defense and related services. As a leader in all sectors of defense and homeland security, EADS North America and its parent company, EADS, contribute over $11 billion to the U.S. economy annually and support more than 200,000 American jobs through its network of suppliers and services. Operating in 17 states, EADS North America offers a broad array of advanced solutions to its customers in the commercial, homeland security, aerospace and defense markets.

Jeannot a écrit:Merci Sevrien. L'affaire est donc dans le lac ou entre les mains des avocats.

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], in partnership with [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], will not offer a bid for the $35 billion KC-X tanker contract, citing a US Air Force request for proposal (RFP) it believes is weighted in favour of its competitor.
"We reached this conclusion based on the structure of the source selection methodology defined in the RFP, which clearly favours [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]'s smaller refuelling tanker and does not provide adequate value recognition of the added capability of a larger tanker, precluding us from any competitive opportunity," says Wes Bush, CEO of Northrop Grumman.

Additionally, Bush says that Northrop has decided not to protest the selection process, adding that "while we feel we have substantial grounds to support a [Government Accountabiity Office] or court ruling to overturn this revised source selection process, America's service men and women have been forced to wait too long for new tankers".

EADS echoed a similar sentiment about the KC-X selection process, but declined to say whether or not the European defence consortium would make its own bid to the US Air Force. However, those close to the process say the European company is in a "wait and see" position on any future developments.

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] has been rumoured to be a possible partner with EADS on a future bid.

Northrop Grumman had initially planned to offer the KC-45, based on the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Multi-Role Tanker Transport, which is larger than the Boeing's NewGen tanker offering based on the smaller 767.
The latest chapter in the almost decade long tanker saga, sets up a potential political showdown between US Congressional supporters of the Northrop and those in support of Boeing, as well as the US Department of Defense as Boeing is left to bid as a sole-source contractor to the US Air Force to replace its aging [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] tankers.
US President Barack Obama has repeatedly stressed his opposition to sole-source contracts as a bad deal for the taxpayer, who is responsible for financing the acquisition.

Bush disclosed that the final price Northrop Grumman would have offered on the first 68 tankers was a unit flyaway cost of $184 million, including non-recurring development costs.
In a parting shot against its competitor, the price disclosure could pressure Boeing to offer a lower price on what Northrop calls "a smaller, less capable design", adding that the "taxpayer should certainly expect the bill to be much less".

Boeing declined to comment directly on Northrop's publication of its offering price for the tanker contract, but says it will offer a lower total life cycle cost than its competitor, a different measurement than the flyaway unit cost touted by Northrop..

Le Pentagone s'est dit "déçu" lundi par la décision du groupe américain de défense Northrop Grumman et de son partenaire européen Airbus de ne pas participer à l'appel d'offres pour la fourniture d'avions ravitailleurs, qui laisse l'Américain Boeing seul en lice.

2010 AFP

Ravitailleurs US: le patron d'Airbus dénonce un appel d'offres biaisé


BERLIN, 9 mars 2010 (AFP)Le patron de l'avionneur Airbus reproche au gouvernement américain d'avoir fait preuve de partialité dans son appel d'offres pour la fourniture d'avions ravitailleurs, pour lequel Airbus et son partenaire américain Northrop Grumman ont jeté l'éponge lundi.