Military Aviation > Air Forces

The Tanker Joke - round... 4, I think?

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shawn a:
So the joke never stops!
I'm getting really buffed out abs from all the laughter!
EADS is now bidding again, and the pentagon has put off the deadline for bids to accommodate them. another 60 days, to approximately July 10th!
How many other countries are laughing and learning over this idiocy?
What if the iranians and the chinese bid? will we extend the deadline?
Let's get this moronic (expletive deleted) over with and start producing a tanker!!
Shawn A

Webmaster:
The Pentagon wants EADS to bid, otherwise Boeing will rip you off. Okok, it's the law, blabla.

So yes, it wouldn't be an issue in many countries. Because either they don't buy foreign if they have their own industry, or anything the air force wants gets ordered, or the terms/financing is so bad they are happy to have one option.

I don't know about learning and laughing...  none are in a position to really do...

Learning... France maybe, how to hold a mock competition and select local product eventually without being called protectionist? They can't be laughing, at least not publicly, they fly Boeings but support Airbus, argh.

Laughing... Russia/China may be laughing with their competing factories (but all owned by the state, so it doesn't matter who wins), but they must be watching in envy, as they would want these aircraft.

Learning... UK... learning that they soon may need more full-time tankers, instead of lease, as the USAF won't be there to fuel them. That's no laughing matter.

Laughing... Iran... with their 707 and 747 tankers and parts under embargo, but supplied for the civil fleet? I guess they could be laughing at the fears over embargo. But even without tankers, the USAF is still no laughing matter, and there are plenty of bases around. USN will probably do, and they've got Boeing tankers in the form of SHornets.

Maybe Chavez is laughing, he loves to make fun of America. But FAV won't be laughing as they'll soon have to do it with Il-78s.



--- Quote ---What if the iranians and the chinese bid? will we extend the deadline?

--- End quote ---

Bid with what? LOL. No, one bid = bad, two bids = fine and all you need.




I guess Americans want Boeing tankers. All this "best for the Warfighter" can be ignored, when do they ever get what they want? They'll learn to love it and never look back. Who cares if allies have better tankers, fighters/bombers win the war. It's like those An-124s being hired to carry the BlackHawks and Apaches to the fight, who cares as long as those choppers can be put into the fight.

And while Boeing is producing those tankers, Airbus will take-over the US cargo market... probably with planes produced in France, rather than Alabama. ;)

Webmaster:
Like I said.... two is enough...


--- Quote from: http://www.key.aero/view_news.asp?ID=2207&thisSection=military ---[...] U.S. Aerospace Inc, has joined forces with the state-owned Ukrainian aircraft builder Antonov.

It is thought that California-based U.S. Aerospace has asked the Pentagon for a 60-day extension to prepare a bid. It had been thought that Russian aircraft manufacturer United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) had been involved with an American partner but this was strenuously denied by UAC in March this year.
[...]

--- End quote ---

And...


--- Quote from: http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=defense&id=news/asd/2010/07/09/01.xml&source=rss ---[...]
The Pentagon says it is sticking to its 2 p.m. July 9 deadline for competitors to submit their KC-X proposals, despite the potential U.S. Aerospace bid.
[...]

--- End quote ---

shawn a:
Is somebody JOKING?
If not, what airframe would Antonov use? I can see a -225 with 3 booms and 4 hose-drogues refuelling an F-22, an F-15, an F-16, two Super Hornets, and two F-35Cs all at the same time!
sorry-I couldn't resist.

Webmaster:
"Antonov and U.S. Aerospace, Inc. will bid three models for the KC-X program, the AN-124-KC, AN-122-KC, a twin-engine variant of the AN-124-100 with advanced engines, electronics and avionics, and AN-112-KC, an updated airframe designed specifically to meet the tanker program requirements."

The An-112-KC seems to be the most realistic contender, it's basically a An-70 with two turbofans. Russia/Ukraine recently came to an agreement to resume An-70 program. But there's still a lot of work to be done to have it with turbofans and as tanker.


Surely, they can't expect to win this, maybe some very risk-taking investors think. Nah, I'm thinking this US Aerospace thought this to be a perfect PR/Marketing tool. There's hardly any info available on the aircraft on their site. Bidding is not cheap, but you get so much media exposure / stock price probably went up? For Antonov it puts it back in the spotlight again, and I guess they thought what better way to promote our An-124 on the US market.

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