Competitors Turn To E-Mail, Quips In Bid For Deal
The bids have been in for over a month... and no word yet on
which way the contract will fall. Will the US Air Force choose the
Northrop Grumman/EADS KC-30, or Boeing's KC-767 for its KC-X Tanker
contract?
As ANN reported, final bids were turned in January 3 by both Boeing and EADS, and now the wait is on
to see which plan the Defense Department will choose. And while
neither company is allowed to directly solicit the Air Force while
the bids are under consideration, the battle has evolved to a
"guerrilla marketing" campaign -- in not-so-covert efforts to get
around communication restrictions between bidders and deciding
officials.
Tactics employed by both parties include "sending blast e-mails
to reporters and trade journals widely read by Air Force officials
and by advertising in specialty publications, on buses and subways
and local radio stations," reports The Seattle
Post-Intelligencer.
Special publications aimed at Congressional staff and leaders in
Washington, such as "The Hill," have been on the receiving end of
full page ads from both parties (as have ANN inboxes -- Ed.) Radio
airwaves and Metro subway stops are also not immune to the fight
for the estimated $40 billion contract.
Both sides aim to show off all positive points of their tankers,
including low technical risk. As ANN reported, Boeing recently
issued a report proclaiming the KC-767 tanker had conducted its
first-ever nighttime refueling. Boeing spokesman William Barksdale
praised the development as a "huge" step for the advanced
tanker.
The announcement prompted Northrop Grumman spokesman Randy
Belote to quickly blast an email, stating "One would hope that,
after more than five years, they have made some progress." Northrop
Grumman and European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company state the
KC-767 is the riskier approach for the Air Force, citing failed delivery goals of
tankers for Japan and Italy.
EADS officials have also slammed Boeing in the court of public
opinion for its use of components from several different 767
variants in constructing the KC-767... in the hopes Air Force
officials may come to look upon the US-sourced Boeing plane as
something of a mongrel, and the Airbus-based KC-30 as a
purebred.
Boeing is offering a version of its 767 commercial airliner,
modified for use as a tanker able to carry three times more cargo
and passengers than the current KC-135 used by the USAF. The
Northrop Grumman/EADS-proposed KC-30 is designed to refuel Navy and
coalition aircraft, and to serve as a multi-role transport aircraft
to move passengers, cargo and medical evacuation patients --
whereas Boeing's plane, while offering some additional
capabilities, is primarily a refueler.