Northrop/EADS Have Reason To Be Happy... Boeing, Not So Much

Details of the Pentagon's revised Request for Proposals on the US Air Force KC-X tanker bid -- leaked to press outlets Wednesday -- likely won't win much favor in the halls of Boeing's corporate headquarters, or among its supporters on Capitol Hill.

In its 98-page briefing on amendments and clarifications to the original RFP, the Pentagon says it will place greater emphasis on aerial refueling duties, and capabilities above and beyond the Air Force's original plan. That bodes well for Northrop Grumman and EADS, whose KC-30 offers greater fuel capacity than the smaller Boeing KC-767.

"There is additional value to the government for the additional fuel offload amount above threshold," the revised document states, according to Reuters.

Boeing won't be pleased by that decision. As ANN reported, the company successfully protested the Air Force's February 29 decision to award the KC-X contract to the KC-30 on the grounds the Air Force unfairly gave Northrop/EADS unfair credit for the additional capabilities of its larger aircraft. The KC-30 offers greater refueling and transport capabilities than what the original contract proposal called for, whereas the KC-767 fit the original terms almost exactly.

Conversely, the Pentagon's revised terms will measure life cycle costs over 40 years, instead of 25 as called for in the original Air Force RFP. That should work to Boeing's favor... whose smaller offering will almost certainly be cheaper to operate over the long run than the larger KC-30.

But that's one of the few areas where Boeing will likely come out on top, according to an aide to Washington lawmaker and Boeing supporter Norman Dicks. The revised RFP "appears to justify a bigger aircraft with greater fuel offload capability," the aide to the Democrat congressman said.

The aide tells Reuters the Pentagon gave a "1" priority rating to aerial refueling capabilities... and in that race, the numbers have it. Northrop's larger Airbus A330-based aircraft can hold nearly 250,000 pounds of fuel, some 45,000 pounds more than the Boeing KC-767.

Other areas where the KC-30 rated highly -- like operational utility, survivability and airlift capability -- were rated a "2," while efficiency and other operational concerns -- like the ability to operate off a 7,000-foot runway, a strong plus for the KC-767 -- were rated a "3."

As ANN reported, the Pentagon stripped the Air Force of its decision-making authority on KC-X in July, following the Government Accountability Office's ruling in favor of Boeing's protest.

Officials said the Pentagon plans to release the final RFP later this month, with revised bids submitted by October 1. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman says the plan still calls for a winner to be chosen by the end of the year.

"We are continuing to move along at a very deliberate and aggressive pace here because our desire remains to complete the source selection process by the end of this year," he said.

FMI: www.northropgrumman.com/kc45, www.af.mil, www.defenselink.mil, www.newglobaltanker.com