The Air Force had previously announced that they would delay the proposal submission date for the KC-X tanker contract sixty days into July. Now they have updated the Request for Proposals (RFP) to reflect a contract “start” date of November 12th. The original RFP had called for a contract award date on August 29th. This 75 day slip to the start date may mean an earlier award date but it seems to mirror the decision to delay the proposal submission date.

The Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps released to Congress their “Aircraft Investment Plan”. This lays out how many fixed wing aircraft they intend to buy and maintain through 2020. The U.S.A.F. intends to buy 109 tankers by that year at an estimated cost of over $30 billion.

The Air Force also plans to maintain a force of 223 C-17 and 91 C-5 heavy lift aircraft. The core of the services aircraft though will be the F-35 JSF with about 600 planned for purchase at the current schedule.

Over at BNET: Government where I also publish I have a piece on how this third try will be the winning one for the Air Force and Defense Department to get a new aircraft to replace the aging KC-135 fleet. There still remain many challenges with the contest as Northrop may not bid and Boeing has expressed concerns with the fixed price portion of the contract.

It will be an interesting next few months as this is all worked out. Next deadline is May 10th when proposals are due.

The Air Force and Department of Defense acquisition officials briefed Congress and the press today on the new RFP for the KC-X. It had some slight changes from the draft release a few months ago. The key question is will Northrop bid this time around?

They won the last contract to have that thrown out on Boeing’s protest. Much more to come on this in the days ahead.

President Obama sent his 2011 budget to Congress yesterday. It contains as part of its record defense spending $12 billion for the development and initial production of the new KC-X tanker. The Administration and the Air Force have a goal of awarding a contract this Summer and beginning the development of the new aircraft fairly fast.

This plan is fraught with difficulties based on the history of the program. The two main competitors, Boeing (BA) and the Northrop Grumman (NOC) team, have their own supporters in Congress and their own issues with the approach the Air Force is taking. It can be expected that the source selection will be difficult and the chances for a protest fairly high if both groups do submit bids.

One of the solutions that has been mooted to solve the KC-X issue is to buy aircraft from both Boeing (BA) and EADS (EADS.P). This would certainly eliminate many of the issues around the source selection. The Defense Department and Air Force have not supported this idea in the past due to the logistical costs related to operating two dissimilar aircraft. Of course the problem the Air Force faces is that the KC-30 and KC-767 are too dissimilar.

Some in Congress and in the industry suggested the split buy last Summer and now it has been raised again. If Northrop Grumman (NOC) does refuse to submit a bid then the contest is on hold unless there is the will to do a sole source contract again. The split buy would solve that issue and keep Northrop playing.

We will have to see how this plays out.

Ashton Carter the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (USD (AT&L), who is the head “weapons buyer” at the Pentagon had a press availability recently. At this he stated he is committed to the current plan for the KC-X program with a final RFP coming out by the end of the year. The draft RFP in his eyes was less subjective then past ones and the questions from industry are being used to shape the final RFP. He is confident that the Air Force will get it right on their third try. It will have to be seen if this is true.

Several Representatives and Senators from states where Boeing (BA) would do much of the work if they won the KC-X tanker contract are pushing the Air Force to either exclude outright EADS (EADS.P) or place a cost factor on their bid. This is all due to the World Trade Organization (WTO) draft ruling that the company received illegal subsidies from several European governments. Supporters of the Northrop Grumman (NG) and EADS say that the ruling is draft and not finalized and should not apply in this competition.

If there was such a move by the Air Force it would significantly reduce the competition in the contract process. It would make the Air Force award the contract to Boeing as the other bid would not be competitive. Of course this is what the legislators want, but a sole source award to Boeing probably would not be palatable to others in Congress or the Department of Defense. There should be at least two bids for each contract and this one is limited to Boeing, EADS and possibly the Russian company Ilyushin. Chances are that a Russian aircraft would not be chosen no matter how cost effective it is. This leaves the U.S. in a very limited position with the KC-X.

This kind of fighting can be expected to go on for the next several months to after the contract award and resolution of any protest.

Yesterday Northrop announced that it is considering not participating in thew new KC-X competition. They are concerned that the the way the price requirement is structured may not be fair to them. They are also pursuing the complaint that their cost data was provided to Boeing during the protest of the last award and want access to the same information.

If Northrop and EADS don’t submit a bid it will be hard to get actual competition on the contract. That would leave just one submission, Boeing, or perhaps two from them if they go the route of having a 777 as well as a 767 proposal. This situation would make it hard for the Air Force to proceed.

The chances of Northrop doing this is low and the Department of Defense realizes it. This is the largest procurement coming down the road and both EADS and Boeing need the work. Of course if there is really a belief that their bid cannot win no matter what then Northrop should just save the money and not prepare one. This is only the draft RFP so the next year or so should be interesting.

EADS Advanced Refueling Boom Transfers Fuel From Australian A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport to F-16 Fighter

ARLINGTON, VA — (Marketwire) — 10/22/09 — The EADS A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) — currently in production for four allied nations — marked another major performance milestone with the first in-flight refueling performed from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) A330 MRTT utilizing its integrated Aerial Refueling Boom System (ARBS).

The contacts and subsequent fuel transfers were made with two F-16 receiver aircraft and validated the advanced ARBS handling qualities, precision, and stability on the A330 MRTT, as well as the capabilities of its 3-D vision system. The flight lasted four hours and 30 minutes, with more than 3,300 pounds of fuel transferred during 13 contacts.

EADS’ fly-by-wire ARBS is one of the key technological discriminators for the A330 MRTT and Northrop Grumman’s KC-45 offering to the U.S. Air Force, providing the only digital, all-electric fly-by-wire refueling system available today.

The ARBS has already made more than 250 wet and dry contacts with a wide range of receiver aircraft, in a full range of operating conditions and throughout the flight envelope, while the boom was deployed on an EADS test-bed aircraft.

“This significant milestone demonstrates the maturity of the world’s most modern aerial refueling boom system as integrated on the only next-generation tanker aircraft in production today,” said Ralph D. Crosby, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of EADS North America. “The A330 MRTT is one important step closer to service introduction with a key allied military service, the Royal Australian Air Force.”

“The ARBS was just as smooth and easy to control during these contacts as it has been in all our prior work with it,” said Don Cash, boom operator for the A330 MRTT test flight. “The precision of the system makes the boom feel just like an extension of my arm.”

Cash is a retired U.S. Air Force boom operator with more than 20 years’ experience aboard the KC-135 and KC-10, and has been on the ARBS design team for five years. “I’ve had the needs of the warfighter in mind from the beginning, and we’ve arrived at a system that offers them a level of performance and reliability unmatched by any system available in the world today and for the foreseeable future.”

The RAAF’s A330 MRTT is similar in configuration to Northrop Grumman’s KC-45 Tanker offered for the U.S. Air Force to recapitalize its aging aerial refueling fleet. Both aircraft are equipped with the EADS ARBS, plus a pair of all-digital Cobham 905E refueling pods under the wings. This mix of boom and pod refueling technologies ensures the A330 MRTT and KC-45 can transfer fuel to all types of receiver aircraft during a single mission without reconfiguration. The KC-45 also offers a centerline hose-and-drogue fuselage refueling unit.

The boom’s maximum nominal fuel flow rate is 1,200 U.S. gallons per minute, while the pods can deliver up to 420 gallons of fuel per minute. Aerial refueling operations are controlled from a state-of-the-art Remote Aerial Refueling Operator console in the cockpit behind the pilots, incorporating the enhanced vision system with laser infrared lighting and high-definition digital stereoscopic viewing.

“I have situational awareness and a field of view that far exceed anything I ever had during my Air Force career,” Cash said, “with crystal-clear visuals night or day.”

EADS North America is a principal teammate on Northrop Grumman’s KC-45 Tanker program, and is responsible for delivering the aircraft platform, which will be produced at a new aerospace center of excellence to be built in Mobile, Ala.

Airbus Military, an EADS company, is responsible for the design and production of the A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport for international customers, which today includes Australia, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Orders from those countries total 28 aircraft. The A330 MRTT has won all of the international competitions for new-generation aerial tankers since 2004.

The RAAF will receive its first of five A330 MRTTs in 2010, two of which have completed conversion and currently are in flight test. Upon delivery to the RAAF, they will be designated the KC-30A.

About EADS North America (www.eadsnorthamerica.com)

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.

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EADS North America
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