Leeham News and Analysis
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Leeham News and Analysis
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Air Force chief ambiguous on tanker selection timing
The Hill, a specialty publication reporting on matters of “the Hill,” aka Congress, reports today that the chief of the US Air Force won’t confirm selection of the winner for the KC-X program will be selected this year.
Heidi Wood, the aerospace analyst at Morgan Stanley, concluded some time ago that the selection would slip to 2011. There have been previous hints at this.
Also while we were on holiday: the Government Accountability Office rejected that final elements of the protest by US Aerospace for its late filing of a bid. We don’t think this silly proposal wouldn’t have gained traction even if the filing had been on time. This leaves Boeing and EADS as the only bidders for the KC-X.
Here is a link to a piece we did for Armed Forces Journal magazine’s October issue.
With all the political ads/flapdoodle about ( insert pol here ) saved the tanker for Boeing, there may well be a years delay no matter who wins., It’ll be up to the new Sec defense …
Hmmm,if the USAF thinks the next Congress will accept and fund a French built tanker, they are sadly mistaken. Even if the Congress changes political parties, they will still represent areas where jobs are needed in the US.
If the USAF keeps playing around with the contract award date, Congress should direct them to cancel the KC-X program and begin reengining and updating the KC-135Es.
But Top Boom, why would the USAF want this “French” built Tanker in the first place?
Yes and why would the Air Force go to all the trouble to have EADS bid when they could have sole sourced to big B?
Maybe the USAF should have just sole sourced to EADS.
Imagine the uproar 😉
Skies would have been seen falling on the US.
As it is and watching the sideshows not spending
money on powerprojection and instead invest in more
productive activities would have been ( and still is imho )
the best course.
In a podcast with Addison Schonland, a US Aerospace official did not rule out further action. He stated that the courts are an option.
Here’s the link.
http://iagblog.podomatic.com/?badge=1
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