Airbus-Lockheed Put Pressure On USAF

[tomahawk6]

The USAF KC-46 tanker deal may unravel if Airbus-Lockheed have their way.

https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/12/05/lockheed-airbus-venture-ups-the-pressure-on-boeing-to-deliver-its-us-air-force-tankers/ 

WASHINGTON and COLOGNE, Germany — Lockheed Martin and Airbus have agreed to develop a new aerial-refueling service aimed at the U.S. Air Force, upping the pressure on incumbent Boeing to deliver its KC-46 tankers on time.
The two companies, industry behemoths on each side of the Atlantic, hailed the pact for combining Airbus’s A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) plane with Lockheed Martin’s systems-integration expertise and “presence” on the U.S. defense market. In essence, the joint venture could provide Airbus with another bite at the massive Air Force air-tanking apple after rival Boeing won the bid to build a fleet of new aircraft in 2011.

 

[CBH99]

I think this deal is pretty much done already, and won't be undone.

Using US made airframes from Boeing is a huge, huge sell.  That alone will probably be more than enough to guarantee the work stays with Boeing.

As much as Boeing has butchered this project - it is still going to result in hundreds of new airframes built in the US, by American workers, paying taxes to the US government, and keeping the national economy (not just regional) humming along via suppliers in every state.  Boeing has this locked down.

Not only that, but Boeing HAS DELIVERED SOME AIRCRAFT TO DATE - it's just that they haven't cleared all of their certifications.  And more worrying, issues the USAF has identified as "critical performance issues" still have yet to be resolved.

^^ The above is with the tanker configurations and new technology, not with the aircraft itself.



It's pretty unbelievable that a company that's been building aerial refuelling tankers for 50 years is struggling to get these things rolling.  And the technologies that are holding the project back are so stupid & pointless, I truly wonder why they were ever considered 'critical' in the first place, since no other aerial refuelling tankers in USAF service have EVER had them.

The project was to replace the aging tanker fleet.  And instead of just building a new fleet of tankers with proven technology, they butcher the whole thing by trying to integrate new tech that isn't needed once-so-ever in the first place.


If Airbus were to manufacture them in the US at their facility in Alabama, that could be their foot in the door.  But I imagine a gigantic USAF contract is going to remain with an American company, regardless of how much they stumble on it.