USAF Expected To Issue A Decision Near End Of Month

Northrop Grumman joined the fight over the US Air Force KC-X contract Thursday, and submitted its Final Proposal Revision (FPR) for the lucrative deal.

Northrop leads a team of global aerospace suppliers in bidding for KC-X -- including EADS, General Electric, Sargent Fletcher, Honeywell, Parker, AAR, Knight Aerospace, Telephonics and others in offering the KC-30 Tanker to the US Air Force to replace its aging fleet of KC-135 Tankers. The consortium's KC-30 Tanker is based on the Airbus A330.

"I am extremely proud of the quality of the KC-30 team and the progress it continues to make since initial proposal submission in April 2007," said Ronald D. Sugar, Northrop Grumman chairman and CEO. "Our solution, the KC-30 Tanker, not only offers greater capabilities and versatility than any tanker available today, it offers the lowest entry risk. It also meets all of the Air Force's key requirements and is superior in every respect to the KC-135R it replaces. The KC-30 is clearly a 'game changer' in that it is the only solution to provide the potential breakthrough in future Air Force air mobility capability as the C-17 did in replacing the venerable C-141."

If selected over Boeing's KC-767 offering for KC-X, the KC-30 Tanker will be assembled in Mobile, AL. Northrop and EADS consider the KC-30 to be the most modern tanker ever built. The team says the KC-30 Tanker will employ more than 200 US companies in 49 states, centered on new facilities in Mobile.

A larger aircraft than the KC-767, the KC-30 carries 45,000 more pounds of fuel than a KC-135 or any competitor, according to Northrop -- providing a significant boost to the US Air Force's global reach.

The 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.

The projected contract award is expected on or about January 31.

FMI: www.northropgrumman.com/kc30/