EADS Won’t Say If KC-X Bid Changes

EADS Won’t Say If KC-X Bid Changes

By Colin Clark Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011 5:52 pm
Posted in Air, International, Rumors

While Boeing went public with the news that they had met with the Air Force to discuss their KC-X bid and would revise their offering, EADS NA has stayed mum and only went public when we gave them a call.

They also met on Monday with the Air Force. “We received final proposal revisions, which are due to the customer on Friday, Feb. 11 at 8 a.m at Wright Patterson (Air Force Base),” said Guy Hicks, head spokesman. Hicks refused to say whether his company would revise its bid.

We understand that among the details the Air Force disclosed to both companies were the IFARA [Integrated Fleet Aerial Refueling Assessment] score, the military construction score and the fuel burn score.


Given the culture of the two companies, and the fact that Boeing executives have reportedly revealed their deep unease with their chances of winning the contract, it seems reasonable to assume that EADS did not feel compelled to alter its bid because its scores left them feeling pretty confident.

If you do the calendar, and take into account the fact that several decision-making layers in the Pentagon — and probably one or two in the White House given the keen French, British and German interest in the contract award — must be notified of the results and make certain the decision is sound, it seems reasonable that a contract award would not be made before Feb. 28 and it might not be until March 4.

One footnote: EADS and Boeing will, we bet, use three or four delivery methods to get their final presentations to Wright-Pat. After all, they don’t want to miss the deadline as someone once did.

Join the Conversation

Charles Spiegelman February 4th, 2011 at 9:34 am

How about not buying new tankers and modifing the hundreds of airline aircraft that could be used for billions less like isreal is doing. Why buy new doesn’t make sense in this fiscal enviroment. let Boeing and EAD both lose and the winner is the Amercian people.

Josh February 4th, 2011 at 11:25 am

You obviously have no background and/or working knowledge of aviation…

Modifying, and repairing, a fleet of worn out airliners that are probably well over their service life will be far more expensive than a new build. We ALREADY have old airliners as tankers; B707’s and DC-10’s. The losers will be both the American people and, more importantly, the military who will have to rely on a collection of boneyard relics to fight two wars.

asdf February 5th, 2011 at 7:25 am

didn’t israel modify some airline 767 for the tanker duty? but it’s true, for such usage patterns as there are in the us army, there is no sense in buying used.

Maryam Choufany February 6th, 2011 at 12:59 am

sorry if i have to send a massege to X for suez canal he has to give 100 $ bills plus omkolthum songs to his nation to kalm the situation . it will work

Maryam Choufany February 6th, 2011 at 1:08 am

Good day my fellow americans,Einstein did not leave to answer,let s be realestic take advantage of the goood brain till they are alive .

Oblat February 8th, 2011 at 7:08 am

Boeing has revealed that the dream-liner development has cost them 18 billion instead of the 5 they budgeted for. Turns out that the commercial part of the business started using ideas from their military business and everything went south real fast.

No wonder they need the tanker bailout. The same bad ideas sank McDonald Douglas.

William C. February 8th, 2011 at 8:37 am

Meanwhile how long has the A400M been delayed and how over-budget is that program? EADS is hardly in a better position.

The main problems causing delays to the 787 were some issues with the composite development and flight control software.

Dan Hillman February 14th, 2011 at 1:00 pm

Josh
There have been many tanker conversions using older airliners. RAF VC-10s and L-1011s just to name two.

What not run a similar program with Used 767s?

Failing that ANYONE but Boeing, after their previous shenanigans on the tanker lease they should be bared from this contract.

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