Airbus Military said it’s working on a final bid in the $35 billion U.S. Air Force airborne tanker contest as it seeks to trump Boeing Co. in a delayed competition that has already spanned nine years.
Airbus’s defense arm is bullish about winning the order because its A330 airliner-based model offers greater capability than Boeing 767, Domingo Urena Raso, the unit’s chief executive officer, said in an interview in Toulouse, France.
“Our plane is bigger, it has a cabin in which you can do medical evacuation or transport soldiers or ground crews, and it provides more fuel capacity, hence flying further and being able to refuel more fighters,” he said. “You’d otherwise need two or three different aircraft to perform the same types of mission.”
Boeing said its bid meets all mandatory requirements and that Airbus’s plane is “oversized.” The Air Force said Nov. 20 it would delay making a choice until early 2011 after mistakenly disclosing both bidders’ data on combat-mission analysis. Urena Raso declined to comment on how the proposals might be affected by the revelations, which didn’t include pricing information.
Airbus is still answering final questions about its plane, which would carry 270 troops and ground equipment in addition to fuel, Urena Raso said, and expects the Pentagon to ask for final bids shortly, ahead of an evaluation period to pick the winner.
Going Solo
The Airbus tanker was originally chosen by the U.S. Air Force over Boeing’s proposal in 2007, only for the award to be quashed after its rival contested the decision. While Airbus and parent European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co. were junior partners to U.S.-based Northrop Grumman Corp. in the initial contest, this time round they’re competing alone.
Airbus has already beaten Boeing in bids to supply the U.K. and Australia with refueling planes and can draw on those designs if it wins the U.S. order, Urena Raso said on Dec. 15. It also won contests in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, while Boeing was selected in Japan and Italy.
A tanker destined for Britain’s Royal Air Force this week made its first contact with a jet fighter using a hose trailing from the rear fuselage to provide a higher fuel flow than wing- mounted gear. That completes tests for every combination of fuelling option, the executive said.
Boeing 767-based aircraft would burn 24 percent less fuel than the Airbus plane while meeting the Pentagon’s 372 bid requirements, spokesman William Barksdale said in an e-mail. The Chicago-based company’s proposal is based on proven technology from the KC-10 and KC-135 tankers and will also incorporate cockpit displays from the new 787 Dreamliner, he said.
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