On Third Try, Boeing Wins $35-billion US Tanker War

Boeing Statement: The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has received a contract from the U.S. Air Force to build the next-generation aerial refueling tanker aircraft that will replace 179 of the service’s 400 KC-135 tankers.

14 thoughts on “On Third Try, Boeing Wins $35-billion US Tanker War”

  1. Didn't India first order then cancel EADS' Airbus tanker? Shall we see India now follow suit here and go with Boeing for its future tanker requirement?

  2. I thought the EADS version was larger bird with bigger bladder; does India really need that huge capacity? I would have thought that more birds with smaller bladders would work better for us. We do not seem to have a need to police the world anytime soon. Actually I don;t care what GOI buys as long as they do it in a timely manner.

  3. I think you are right about economics playing a huge part of this US decision. The Boeing 737 based tanker uses a lot less fuel than the A330 based EADS proposal!

  4. @ Chintan..very well put..a330 will burn much more fuel than b737….except that B was offering a 767 based solution……but thats a slight hitch i suppose

    if u were to compare (maxfuel weight)/(MTOW)… MRTT would come up front..but the Q remains what range USAF expects..they have about 2000km range difference too….(or other political factors :P)

    Even then the comparison is slightly off since the 330 is slightly bigger than the 767….and when comparing with 330..the usual direct competing twin from B is the 777

  5. Unemployment rate has nothing to do with this decision. People who followed this from the beginning should know that Boeing offered a product that complied with the critera and was cost effective. EADS offered plane also complied, but offered a lot bigger size, range and came at a higher cost. On paper EADS plane makes sense, but when you factor in the cost of procurement + maintainence, etc. Boeing made more sense. Also, EADS would have to set-up facilities frm ground-up (I think the plan was to build a new factory in the US)… so either way it would have meant jobs for the US. I think Boeing was right to appeal and I am glad that they won. US haters can say what they want… including "re-tender until desired results are obtained"…. chances are they are either jealous of the way things are handled in the US or the have no idea of how well the processes have evolved over many decades that produces a fair result with a fair chance to appeal the outcome.

  6. @ Anon 1148

    well…till now mostly the competitions were between
    companies that were from US ..i.e profits from it would remain in US…

    this was different here..hence the tender re tender etc….

    Another Q ..why did EADS win in the first place..it must have been quite a lobbying to have pulled it off then with an oversized costlier a/c!!!

  7. How long before we cancel our tender to and hand it over to Boeing?we are completely sold out already and provide billions to them while they ban outsourcing,tax the visas and file cases against Infy

  8. Raghu, where do you get your information. They have not banned outsourcing. What they want is fair trade. Americans have opened their markets to most countries including India, but Countries like India, China, S. Korea, Japan + many others have not done the same for the US businesses. Most recent case was Walmart. Walmart is only allowed to collaborate with Indian companies and that too at 49% or less… No all out Walmart ownership is allowed. Such protective measures are BS. Honestly, the only way Americans are going to get fair trade from the world is if they pass reciprocating laws. If you want 50% offset, guess what, Indian companies in the outsourcing arena should re-invest 50% value of their American contracts in the US…. that is when folks will start realizing how good they have had so far. Stop complaining about American protectionism, Indian have been protecting theirs for too long.

  9. @Anny 2:18 AM..

    truely said…

    most of indian dream of working in US …..and indian industry earns a lot from US..and …and when US does the same..we start crying….

    i mean how much do we earn form russia in FOREX …crap would be the answer…

    Time to show the russians ..what they deserve…

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