Northrop Grumman KC-45: Why We Won - Air Refueling EfficiencyHighlighting Reasons the U.S. Air Force Selected the KC-45 Tanker as Best for Our Men and Women in Uniform
WASHINGTON - May 2, 2008 - The U.S. Air Force found Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) bid to build the next generation of aerial refueling tankers superior to Boeing's in four of the five most important selection criteria. Despite this fact, the losing bidder wants the Government Accountability Office to overturn the Air Force decision to award the contract to Northrop Grumman even though the Air Force conducted what even Boeing described as a fair, open and transparent bidding process. Here is another reason Northrop Grumman won, drawn from a list of facts included in the Mission Capability section of a redacted version of a protected Air Force selection document.
Air Refueling Efficiency
Boeing asserts its 767 aircraft is more fuel efficient than the KC-45. The Air Force found the opposite, concluding that the KC-45 is more fuel efficient.
Based on the Air Force formula, the KC-45 is six percent more fuel efficient than Boeing's aircraft at a distance out to 1,000 nautical miles, and becomes even more efficient as the distance increases, up to nearly 30 percent at a distance of 2,000 nautical miles.
Boeing clearly did not like the results provided by the Air Force formula specified in the Request For Proposal and thus invented its own, which just measured fuel burn. But measuring fuel burn without relating it to mission requirements is meaningless. By Boeing's formula, a Piper Cub is more "efficient" than a KC-767, as is a KC-135R.
The Air Force used a common-sense method to measure fuel efficiency: How much fuel does the Northrop Grumman KC-45 use to execute its refueling mission, compared to Boeing's aircraft? The Air Force's conclusion is crystal clear.
The KC-45 "Provides better fuel offload per fuel used compared to the KC-767."
The reason for the difference is that the Air Force specified a formula related to mission execution to measure efficiency: how much fuel is burned compared to pounds of fuel offloaded at a variety of distances.
By using the Air Force evaluation standard, the results are clearly in Northrop Grumman's favor, and the KC-45 provides benefits in other areas as well.
In its selection document, the Air Force wrote that "Northrop Grumman's offer was clearly superior to that of Boeing's for ... aerial refueling and airlift." The Air Force also concluded that the KC-45, with greater fuel efficiency and greater range, in a realistic operational scenario "Enables it to execute (missions) with 22 fewer aircraft than Boeing's ... an efficiency of significant benefit to the government."
About the KC-45
The KC-45 Tanker aircraft will be assembled in Mobile, Ala., and the KC-45 team will employ 48,000 American workers at 230 U.S. companies in 49 states. It will be built by a world-class industrial team led by Northrop Grumman, and includes EADS North America, General Electric Aviation and Sargent Fletcher.
Northrop Grumman Corporation is a global defense and technology company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to government and commercial customers worldwide.
CONTACT: Randy Belote
(703) 875-8525
randy.belote@ngc.com
Tim Paynter
(321) 961-1101
tim.paynter@ngc.com
Source
http://www.irconnect.com/noc/press/pages/news_releases.html?d=141715
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