Leeham News and Analysis
There's more to real news than a news release.
Leeham News and Analysis
- Boeing reports mixed results of latest employee survey, but middle management and officers remain key obstacles April 22, 2025
- Hopes for 1Q financial progress turns into bumpy ride for Boeing April 21, 2025
- Bjorn’s Corner: Air Transport’s route to 2050. Part 18. April 18, 2025
- Natilus: Composite BWB, entry-into-service by 2029, 570 on order April 17, 2025
- China bans Boeing, US parts imports in tariff war April 15, 2025
Gates on split tanker buy: over my dead body
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said there will be a split buy on the KC-X tanker program over his dead body. “I’m laying my body down across the tracks,” Aviation Week quotes as saying in this short article…. Read More
Major shift on split tanker contract
Update, April 3: The New York Times has this long piece on the prospect of a split procurement. Original post: It is a subtle but major shift on the controversial proposal to split the KC-X aerial tanker contract… Read More
Obama to delay tanker, says report
CQ Politics reported late Monday night that the White House has told the Pentagon to delay procurement of the KC-X tanker. See the story here. Update, March 10: DOD Buzz has this item speculating the suggestion to cut… Read More
767 sales keep line alive for tanker
Boeing last week announced an order for four more 767s (in this case, -300ERs) that help keep the line alive pending a new competition for the USAF aerial tanker. Boeing previously booked an order for nine 767s for… Read More
Back to the Tanker: Price Competition
A new strategy for the competition to award an Air Force contract for the aerial tanker might be a compromise for the next president, according to this article. A sidebar to the home page has the following item,… Read More
Obama considers dual tanker buy
The US Air Force AIM online newsletter reported October 24 that presidential candidate Barack Obama is considering a dual tanker purchase. The article is here. The same publication has another story quoting a retired general as saying delaying… Read More
Politics continue on the tanker
(Special projects precluded us from updating last week, so some of the links below backtrack into then.) Politics continue to plague the tanker program even though the Bush Administration has punted the decision to the next presidency. Today… Read More
Tanker canceled (update 9/12)
Update, Sept. 12: Reuters: EADS threatens no-bid in Round 4. Here we go again. First Northrop threatened a no-bid. Then Boeing. Now EADS. Or not. Now Reuters reports that EADS denies the first story. Chicago Tribune: Obama slams… Read More
Tanker update, 9/3
DOD Buzz has this interesting report on the prospect of a split buy for the tanker competition. AFP, the European news agency, reports DOD/USAF officials are worried another tanker protest will be filed, no matter who wins Round… Read More