Military Aviation > Air Forces
The Tanker Joke - round... 4, I think?
Webmaster:
Whoop, there it is.
It's a difficult enough decision in itself, all the lobbying doesn't help anyone... but well, gotta love democracy, right... :'(
shawn a:
Actually, I don't think it's a difficult decision at all. Simply shuck the politics, and choose the best machine for the job.
America has developed an OCD mentality, endlessly nitpicking over petty, irrelevant issues, unable to commit to a decision.
It doesn't even matter if the "wrong" tanker is chosen - look what we do with 707's and DC-10's--WE MAKE THEM WORK!
If we could just make a decision, at least we would have something to improve!
Darleen Druyun should be up before a firing squad for the crap she caused!
shawn a:
The bell hasn't rung to end round 4, so the contenders are still slugging away!
The May 17th issue of AW&ST has 2 advertisements for the tanker opponents-- Boeing's is on the centerspread on heavier paper stock than the rest of the magazine, with two curious statements, one is "combat ready" wow, silly me thought that only Japan and Italy have 767 tankers ready to go. I believe those tankers have some significant differences than what Boeing is still calling the KC-X in the ad (as if they have not yet decided which airframe to use) The other hilarious statement is "superior combat maneuverability for greater survivability"--There is a word to describe a tanker that has to have "superior maneuverability" during combat to survive--That word is TOAST!
I've been to Seattle, and actually drunk the water at Boeing field, and I'm not delusional, so there must be another explanation.
EADS' ad is several pages prior to Boeing's and has a header in very large print that says "GET REAL"
But why are there even ads in a magazine? Do these companies really think that an ad will sway a decision-maker's final decision?
I'm still laughing sadly.
Shawn A.
F-111 C/C:
Hey Shawn can you list all the contenders for me. I haven't been following it much. Thanks.
Webmaster:
--- Quote from: shawn a on May 25, 2010, 07:02:23 AM ---The bell hasn't rung to end round 4, so the contenders are still slugging away!
The May 17th issue of AW&ST has 2 advertisements for the tanker opponents-- Boeing's is on the centerspread on heavier paper stock than the rest of the magazine, with two curious statements, one is "combat ready" wow, silly me thought that only Japan and Italy have 767 tankers ready to go. I believe those tankers have some significant differences than what Boeing is still calling the KC-X in the ad (as if they have not yet decided which airframe to use) The other hilarious statement is "superior combat maneuverability for greater survivability"--There is a word to describe a tanker that has to have "superior maneuverability" during combat to survive--That word is TOAST!
I've been to Seattle, and actually drunk the water at Boeing field, and I'm not delusional, so there must be another explanation.
EADS' ad is several pages prior to Boeing's and has a header in very large print that says "GET REAL"
But why are there even ads in a magazine? Do these companies really think that an ad will sway a decision-maker's final decision?
I'm still laughing sadly.
Shawn A.
--- End quote ---
I guess advertising in mags does help to get that lobby going... In the Air Forces Monthly, there's both an ad and a feature from Omega Tanker Service... which kinda promote their low cost compared to the FSTA Future Air Tanker deal that's now in place for the RAF, as the editor points out in his editorial. Quite effective marketing, I'd say.
"GET REAL" that's great! However if EADS really "got real", they wouldn't be competing in this lost match, that's how I feel about it. Ah well, I suppose it's all about keeping the DOD's goodwill up for future sales.
But to have both EADS and Boeing ads in the same mag, LOL, that's great. Too bad the EADS ad wasn't just after the Boeing ad. Maybe Boeing reworked some old ad, because it's pretty set on the 767 "NextGen" now, seen ads for it, but I suppose it's because the contest is still called KC-X.
You are right, there's still much in the design that isn't ready yet. And I don't know, but those Italian tankers had a huge delay, I'm not even sure they are in active service yet? Nevertheless, I think Boeing will pull it off if they win. Actually I think for neither design it has much to do with readiness... both need a lot of work. But I guess Boeing means that they've got a plant set up for the 767, while EADS will be setting up a new facility in Alabama.
By the way, RAAF A330 tanker first delivery is expected to be soon.
--- Quote from: F-111 C/C on May 25, 2010, 06:29:47 PM ---Hey Shawn can you list all the contenders for me. I haven't been following it much. Thanks.
--- End quote ---
There's still only the two.
But Northrop Grumman refused to bid, so EADS-Airbus will probably going at it alone. NG was pretty pissed that by winning the previous contest, their price became public, while Boeing's price was not revealed. EADS got 60 days extension to reorganise their bid, deadline is now somewhere in early July. It's still A330 vs 767, but the designs will be somewhat different. Boeing already revealed details on their NextGen, basically it has some more 777/787 parts in. Last time I checked (1-2 weeks ago), there was no news about changes from Airbus yet.
The news about the Russian Il-96 bid turned out to be false, as I thought so. It was "copied" by about every aviation news website, really bad.
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