Boeing sees incumbency as advantage in coming air force tanker procurement

Subscription Required Now open to all Readers The interview with Lockheed Martin appeared Jan. 30. By Scott Hamilton March 21, 2022, © Leeham News: Lockheed Martin Co. (LMCO) plans to submit a proposal for the US Air Force’s… Read More

Pontifications: Assessing the advantages Boeing, Lockheed Martin-Airbus have in KC-Y tanker competition

 Fourth in a Series Jan. 3, 2022, © Leeham News: As the US Air Forces gears up to solicit bids for its KC-Y aerial refueling “bridge tanker” competition, Boeing is now the incumbent tanker supplier. Having won the… Read More

Pontifications: EADS went ahead with tanker bid despite long odds against winning

Third in a Series Dec. 20, 2021, © Leeham News: When EADS, then the name of the parent of Airbus, decided to go it alone and bid for the US Air Force contract for the KC-X aerial refueling… Read More

HOTR: USAF prepares for new tanker competition, pitting Lockheed Martin/Airbus and Boeing against each other

By the Leeham News Team June 22, 2021, © Leeham News: The US Air Force appears to be preparing a new round of competition for the next phase of its aerial refueling tanker recapitalization. The first, KC-X, took… Read More

Tanker wars may be back

Subscription Required Introduction Dec. 10, 2018, © Leeham News: The tanker wars may be back. Airbus has teamed with Lockheed Martin to offer the Airbus A330-200MRTT to the Pentagon in a for-hire business model. The agreement also provides… Read More

Is Blue Origin making the 737 of spaceflight?

By Dan Catchpole  danieljcatchpole[at]gmail[dot]com This article has been updated to correct an error that misstated the relative size of New Glenn’s payload. October 11, 2018, © Leeham News: Wednesday’s announcement that the U.S. Air Force had selected Blue… Read More

Pontifications: Small Mississippi airport plays key role in state’s aerospace industry

Nov. 6, 2017, © Leeham Co.: One of my stops during my October visit along the I-10 corridor from Mobile (AL) to New Orleans, through Mississippi, visiting aerospace interests was the Stennis International Airport. The airport is in… Read More

Pontifications: Going to space through Mississippi

Oct. 30, 2017, © Leeham Co., Hancock County (MS): The US Space Shuttle program ended in 2011 and NASA is sending US astronauts to the International Space Station using Russian-made rockets. But officials want to end reliance on… Read More

Pontifications: Mississippi’s aerospace footprint

July 17, 2017, © Leeham Co.: Living in the Seattle area, the highest profile, dominant industry is the commercial aerospace sector. Boeing, of course, headlines just about everything when it comes to aviation. Boeing’s competition is principally Airbus—or… Read More

Pontifications: Catching up on the KC-46A, KC-30A

April 11, 2016, © Leeham Co.: The Government Accountability Office (GAO) concludes that the Boeing KC-46A aerial refueling tanker for the US Air Force has “challenging testing and delivery schedules” ahead in its annual review of the program…. Read More