Tanker Contract Manuevering

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Boudreaux
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Re: Tanker Contract Manuevering

Post by Boudreaux »

heh
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stessier
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Re: Tanker Contract Manuevering

Post by stessier »

Does this mean it is actually over?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110304/ap_ ... nker_fight" target="_blank
The European plane-building company that lost out on a $35 billion refueling tanker deal said Friday it won't appeal the Air Force's decision to go with Chicago-based Boeing Co. in one of the biggest defense contracts ever.
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Re: Tanker Contract Manuevering

Post by LawBeefaroni »

Pretty much, if EADS doesn't appeal it's Boeing's contract. Unless of course something criminal comes to light, which I wouldn't expect.
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Re: Tanker Contract Manuevering

Post by Isgrimnur »

All praise Father Boeing!
The U.S. Air Force has awarded the first major production contract for its new refueling tanker.

The service on Thursday awarded Boeing Co. a $2.8 billion modification to a previously awarded contract for the first two lots of low-rate initial production of the KC-46A Pegasus refueling tanker, according to the announcement.

The agreement calls for a total of 19 aircraft, four spare engines and 10 wing refueling pod kits across both lots, the announcement states. Work will be performed in Seattle and completed by Aug. 24, 2018, it states.

Earlier this week, Frank Kendall, the Pentagon’s chief weapons buyer, approved the 767 airliner-based aircraft for low-rate initial production, known in acquisition parlance as Milestone C.

The move came despite recent technical challenges that has resulted in program delays.

Boeing had initially planned to deliver the first tranche of airplanes by August 2017, but that was pushed back until at least January 2018 in part because of parts of the aircraft needed to be reworked.
...
The Air Force plans to spend $48 billion to develop and build 179 of the planes to replace its aging fleet of KC-135s, according to Pentagon budget documents. Boeing forecasts an $80 billion global market for the new tankers.
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Re: Tanker Contract Manuevering

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Cost overruns
Boeing’s KC-46 refueling tanker program for the Air Force added a $312 million charge last quarter, bringing the total program cost overrun to $2.3 billion, according to the company’s 2016 final-quarter earnings report.

The Chicago-based aerospace giant’s defense unit took a $69 million pre-tax charge for the quarter, while the commercial side retained a $243 million pre-tax charge, the report said. After deducting the costs in taxes, the additional penalty totals $201 million, Defense News reported.

“We are disappointed with the tanker charge we took in the fourth quarter, but it’s well understood and defined,” CEO Dennis Muilenburg told reporters during a conference call Wednesday.

“I will say that the nature of the risk on the program is clearly changing as expected, and we moved now from the development program into the initial production program,” he said.

The Air Force awarded the Boeing a fixed-price $4.9 billion contract in 2011. Boeing is responsible for any cost overruns.

The cost stemmed from problems with initial production, Muilenburg said.
...
The program has suffered a handful of setbacks beginning in 2014. Known as the Pegasus, the aircraft experienced wiring issues, developmental and system problems, including a design flaw in the modified 767-based tanker’s refueling boom that came to light in 2016, causing the program to miss a major contract deadline with the Air Force.

Still, Muilenburg said he remains hopeful for the program’s future.
...
The Air Force last year awarded a $2.8 billion contract for the first 19 KC-46A. The service announced earlier this month it hopes to move 24 KC-46A tankers to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, and Travis Air Force Base, California, to replace current tanker fleets.

Yet without a solid timeline for when the first KC-46 may be delivered, the Pegasus won’t even begin to join the Air Force’s fleet until at least 2019.

Boeing plans to build 179 tankers for the service.
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Re: Tanker Contract Manuevering

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Failed inspections
The United States Air Force has once again rejected taking delivery of new Boeing KC-46 Pegasus tanker jets after discovering foreign object debris (FOD) left inside the aircraft by Boeing workers. This is the second time the USAF has stopped accepting deliveries of new KC-46s this year for the same exact reason, Reuters reported.

The Air Force initially halted deliveries of the Boeing 767 airliner-based tanker planes for two weeks in early March. At the time, assistant secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Will Roper, told reporters that debris such as tools was left in parts of the plane that could be a potential safety hazard, Defense News reported.

According to Reuters, the Air Force decided to halt deliveries again on March 23.
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Re: Tanker Contract Manuevering

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Reuters
European hopes of winning at the second attempt a groundbreaking U.S. military order for refueling planes are fading after the Pentagon scaled back its potential order, cooling the prospect of a new transatlantic "Tanker War," industry sources said.

Aerospace titans Airbus (AIR.PA) and Boeing (BA.N) clashed in an epic contest more than a decade ago and had shaped up for a re-run after Airbus partnered with the world's largest arms producer Lockheed Martin (LMT.N).

Lockheed and Airbus will tout their LMXT tanker at the Paris Airshow this week, bringing U.S. reporters onboard the A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport on which the new plane is based.

But although Lockheed and Airbus insist they are in the race, proposals by the U.S. Air Force to reduce its next tanker procurement to 75 from at least 140 have raised questions over the politics and economics of a bid.
...
In 2011, Boeing won the first of a three-phase procurement to replace the Air Force's aging tanker fleet, securing a contract for 179 KC-46s. The program has since incurred $7 billion in losses.

Airbus teamed with Lockheed in 2018 for the second phase, called KC-Y.

The U.S. Air Force expects to decide later this year how many tankers to buy after the KC-46's initial production run ends in 2029 and whether it will hold a competition.
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Re: Tanker Contract Manuevering

Post by malchior »

Boeing really does seem to have pretty significant quality control issues. It's not just this tanker, they had issues with the 787, their space business is a mess, and oh they killed hundreds of people via the 737 MAX. And they just announced more quality issues that delayed deliveries of 737 Max aircraft that were due this summer. Luckily Uncle Sam keeps steering lucrative contracts to them! The mighty invisible hand of crony capitalism at work!
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