Will the USAF EVER get a new tanker?

www.flightglobal.com...

Boeing and Northrop Grumman may be forced compete all over again for a contract worth up to $35 billion to supply up to 179 tankers to the US Air Force.

US Government Accountability Office (GAO) auditors investigating a protest filed by losing bidder Boeing have found irregularities in the acquisition process that led to the USAF’s selection of the Northrop/EADS North America KC-30 tanker.

what a load of bollocks

so , this time if boeing win - northrop will file a 10 gazillion page protest and throw $1000000000000000 gazillion at lobbying to get it overturned - all in the while the USAF airmen and women lose out.

GG boeing - asshats.


sorry for not posting in the other thread but this upset me somewhat.

After reading the GAO report, it was the Air Force's fault, yet AGAIN. If they'd do this RIGHT then MAYBE they'd get a new tanker sometime in the next 100 years.

GAO report

how many 135`s will fall out of the sky before they STFU and build a new tanker?

That's the point that *I* am trying to make too. But until the USAF quits playing games with the contract and screwing things up completely they won't ever get a new tanker. It's really not this hard to get a new plane, but they keep playing games.

i konw - and for once we agree on something BUT - the USAF need something with both airlift and tanking NOW , and for what they want the A330 is needed , Booing shoul d have offered a trip 7 tanker but haven`t got the capacity to make it

Yeah, they do, but they also have to take into account the realities of politics, which will always rear its ugly head with something like this. They need to hold the new competition as fast as possible as visibly as possible, and as CLEANLY as possible. Whether it's a 777 tanker, the KC-30 tanker, or the whatever tanker.

One of the old birds I worked on, that they FINALLY retired, was the first KC-135 ever built, in 1958. It was retired within the last 12 years or so.

reply to post by Harlequin


A 135 has fallen out of the sky? When?

none of course - its suposition that there very very old and need replacement , all i was saying is will they actually do something if any fall apart?

Boeing were pissed at missing out on the contract when they were told verbally that the would get it. But you know that EADS came up with a better aircraft and price, Boeing keep putting up thier price while the were still looking at all the tenders.

So Boeing dug there own grave miss the tender and then cause all these problems by saying it was unfairand it was going to cost jobs ( which is not true ).

So it looks like if you whinge enough you may get your own way.

Guess they'll have to extend the contract to provide maintenance to the 135s while the new tanker process is done over. Wonder who'll profit from that? Oh yeah, Boeing. Now THERE'S a conspiracy theory!