There has been plenty of expectations that the loser of the latest KC-X competition would file a protest. Boeing (BA) was able to overturn the award to Northrop Grumman (NOC) and EADS (EADS:P) in 2008 when the Government Accountability Office (GAO) upheld its protest of that contract. Now there has already been a protest of this round before the source selection has really got underway. The protester, too, is not one of the usual suspects but U.S. Aerospace (USAE) who announced that they were teaming with Ukrainian aircraft manufacturer Antonov for the multi-billion program to replace the KC-135 in use by the U.S. Air Force.

U.S. Aerospace is protesting the fact that the Air Force said their proposal was received late and will not be considered in the competition. The service has made clear that only the EADS and Boeing ones were received by the deadline of 2:00 PM on 9 July.

The upstart bidder says that their proposal was at the site thirty minutes prior to that time but that Air Force personnel deliberately delayed the courier preventing delivery until five minutes after the deadline. The Air Force is standing by its decision.

The KC-X has been an on-again-off-again program for most of this decade. The initial plan of a lease of 767 based aircraft from Boeing was thrown out amid convictions of U.S. Air Force and Boeing personnel for corruption. The second attempt as mentioned above was lost on protest. This third try looked fairly smooth once EADS committed to bid on their own until late June when the U.S. Aerospace proposal emerged. Now a source selection that is supposed to be complete in early November is facing a potential hiccup depending on how the GAO rules on U.S. Aerospace’s protest. The addition of a third proposal to evaluate may cause delays in the selection and award process.

KC-X just gets more interesting as time passes.

In a sign that they are ramping up work on their bid for the new KC-X aerial tanker program EADS (EADS:P) announced that they are moving their proposal preparation team to new offices in Mobile, AL. If the European defense giant does win the contract they will assemble the A330 aircraft at that city and then apply the specific military modifications there or at another facility.

Reportedly EADS will concentrate about 100 workers in Mobile. They are currently based in Arlington, VA where the EADS North America headquarters is and Melbourne, FL. The Melbourne site was most likely established when EADS was working with Northorp Grumman (NOC) on their last attempt in 2008. Northrop has an aircraft modification facility there used to support the E-8 JSTARS program.

The Defense Department and Air Force expect to received proposals in July and award in the Fall. The Boeing (BA) team and their “NewGen Tanker“ is considered the only other potential offer.

EADS (EADS:P) had decided to go it alone with their own bid for the KC-X aerial tanker after former partner Northrop Grumman (NOC) decided the requirements favored Boeing (BA) too much. All that meant is that EADS would prime the contract but would probably find other companies, including U.S. ones, to sub for them. It is now being said by EADS that they have found at least one U.S. defense contractor to do “sensitive equipment”. The company is unidentified at this point.

This only makes sense as it allows Airbus to deliver a A330 aircraft or tanker to a U.S. facility to do the integration of the military equipment such as radios and defensive equipment. EADS is planning to do this with Lockheed Martin (LMT) on the Army’s new attempt at buying an Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) and should do this for KC-X. Lockheed planned the same thing with Augusta Westland on the failed VH-71 program. By using an American company to do this sort of work it helps with security and technology transfer issues. It is also the reason that EADS North America exists.

This is the latest post I wrote for BNET: Government entitled “KC-X Aerial Tanker Contract Starting To Become A Farce”.

It starts “The Air Force’s ten-year effort to purchase a new aerial tanker continues rapidly seems to be disintegrating. The third attempt at awarding a contract for what has now become one of the most critical needs for the Department of Defense has been roiled by international trade, politics and concerns about the whole approach.”

You may read the rest here.

The Kansas City Star has this lengthy article that describes the whole situation and explains how we got where we are with the KC-X tanker RFP. The article by Cleon Rickle may be found here. Key takeaways are:

“”I am confident Boeing can build the best plane for the Air Force, no matter the competition,” said U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts,of Kansas. “However, I urge the Department of Defense to run a fair competition and avoid coddling EADS to the detriment of American warfighters who have waited eight years for this contest to end and decades for a new tanker.”

“We will offer a modern, more capable tanker in response to the Defense Department’s decision to encourage competition for this major taxpayer investment,” said EADS North America chairman Ralph Crosby, Jr. “Our KC-45 is the only real, flying, low-risk solution that today meets the demanding Air Force air refueling requirements and is actually in production now. ”

This is an article I wrote at BNET: Government about EADS decision to submit a proposal.

“The decade-long saga to replace the KC-X aerial tanker contract begins a new chapter. The European aerospace giant EADS (EADS: P) and Airbus, its subsidiary, announced that it will definitely submit a contract proposal to the Air Force. The program will replace the aging Cold War KC-135 tankers (pictured).

Boeing (BA) thought it had won the contract for at least 179 new aircraft earlier this year when Northrop Grumman (NOC) who had bid in partnership with EADS withdrew from the bidding. Then, earlier this month, the Pentagon agreed to extend the deadline, at EADS’ request, to allow it time to submit a new bid.”

Read the rest at BNET.

It seems that EADS North America the subsidiary of the EADS (EADS:P) is searching for a U.S. company to partner with them on the KC-X tanker contract. Reports are that L-3 Communications (LLL) had been the prime target for this role but now they are rethinking that role.

EADS had planned to be a sub-contractor to Northrop Grumman (NOC) providing A330 aircraft that would then be militarized by Northrop. Now they are planning on being the prime contractor with a U.S. company to aid them. The roles are different enough that it will put pressure on EADS to prepare most of the proposal themselves as well as provide most of the contract management. With their history so far in the U.S. that might be a bit too much for them.

Military Leaders Press Obama to Act On Defense Contract

Further Delays Put Our War fighters in Jeopardy

WASHINGTON, April 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Twelve members of the National Defense Trust (NDT) today sent a letter to President Barack Obama expressing concern over the ongoing delays and political maneuvering preventing the Air Force from awarding the contract to build the next generation of aerial refueling tankers. The letter was signed by retired military officers, leaders of think tanks focusing on national defense, and a former US Senator. A copy of the letter was sent to every Member of Congress.

The current fleet of refueling tankers is five decades old and have been in service since the Korean War. Efforts to build new planes that support military aircraft has been ongoing for nearly a decade and the contracts have been canceled due to controversy and scandal.

The latest Request for Proposal was released several months ago with one of the bidders, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), withdrawing from the competition. However, after pressure from EADS and the government of France, the Pentagon extended the deadline for two months.

The National Defense Trust’s members believe it is critical that the delays, particularly those that are politically motivated, cease, allowing the military to focus on procuring the planes needed for a strong national defense. As a result of the most recent delay in the process, NDT members have sent this letter to Commander in Chief Obama and Members of Congress. The letter reads in part:

Delays often beget delays. Our war fighters deserve new tankers delivered as quickly as possible, and we see no valid reason to postpone the tanker acquisition process any longer. We urge you to resist further efforts to stall the long-overdue process of procuring and building the next fleet of refueling tankers our men and women in uniform need and deserve.

The National Defense Trust is a coalition of Americans dedicated to a robust defense of the United States and our allies.

Source: National Defense Trust

Here is the latest post I wrote for BNET: Government –

“When Northrop Grumman (NOC) announced in March that it would not bid for the new aerial tanker for the U.S. Air Froce, the KC-X, Boeing (BA) and its many supporters in Congress believed it was sure to get the $35 billion contract. Now the deadline to bid has been extended 60 days to allow the European aerospace giant, EADS (EADS:P), to submit a proposal.

There are already reports that EADS, which would seek to provide A330 airliners made by its subsidiary, Airbus, to be modified into the tankers, is talking to other defense contractors about partnering.”

The rest may be found here.

Reports are starting to emerge that EADS (EADS:P) and its subsidiary, EADS-North America, are discussing teaming arrangements with other defense contractors to support bidding on the KC-X RFP. The deadline has now been extended until July by the Department of Defense. Supposedly L-3 Communications (L3) is considered the front runner for this work. There is still no definite confirmation that EADS will launch a bid after previous partner Northrop Grumman (NOC) decided not to participate in this the third round of bidding for the Air Force’s new aerial tanker.

Supposedly EADS talked to Raytheon (RTN) and BAE Systems (BAE:L) about this contract. Both of these companies reportedly expressed little interest. BAE Systems is already a partner in EADS as a whole and would stand to gain some work if the A330 made by Airbus is selected by the Air Force. Raytheon has not led an effort to make a large aircraft like this but obviously has strong system integration and engineering experience. L-3 does work on aircraft and purchased Raytheon’s aircraft integration unit several years ago.

If EADS is going to bid teaming with another large, preferably American, contractor makes the most sense. They will help work with the customer using their experience with the U.S. military. That is why the original plan with Nothrop made so much sense.