Aviation Buzz

The $35 Billion dollar tanker deal is back into the spotlight, as aircraft maufacturers Boeing, EADS, and Northrop Grumman await the governments amended decision on the tanker deal. Yesterday, Boeing said that they welcome the decision by Defense Secretary Robert Gates not to pursue the purchase from EADS and Northrop Grumman. However Boeing stated that they are concerned that the government may have changed the criteria for the new tanker, designated the KC-X.  

For those of you away, or were hiding under rocks, the government denied Boeing the contract and instead went with EADS / Northrop Grumman (the two are collaborating on this project). The government stated that EADS’ tanker was “clearly a better performer.” However, Boeing claimed soon after that the deal was unfair, since the B767-200ER saves over 20% more fuel than the Airbus A330 MRTT (based off of the commercial A330). Congress was very upset about the decision to give the contract to EADS, and a review was held to judge the Air Force’s decision on the EADS tanker.  After review, the Department of Defense stepped in and announced that the Air Force would give both tankers a second look.

Boeing says the 767 tanker has a more realistic and better lifecycle compared to the A330, and would save the military billions of taxpayer dollars.  If the tanker goes to Boeing, 44,000 jobs would be created / be able to exist, and the OEM would use 300 suppliers located in 40 various states across the United States. If the contract goes to EADS, then those new jobs don’t get created and instead go to Europe.

The 767-200ER, in my opinion, is the best choice. With the rise of fuel, the Air Force will save billions of dollars. I am, however, a bit concerned that the 767 carries less, but overall, in the big picture, if the contract goes to Boeing it creates more jobs for our own country.

A decision may be reached as early as today, but could come any day before the year end.