DoD Cancels Refueling Competition, Tankergate Lives On

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates put the kabosh on the Air Force's tanker replacement competition today marking yet another end to yet another chapter in what has got to be one of the biggest black eyes in military procurement history. The program termination is being based on the fact that the DoD won't be able to complete the competition process before the end of the current presidential administration. Now either Obama or McCain will have the pleasure of adopting the red-headed step child that is the KC-X tanker replacement program. Aimed at replacing the venerable KC-135 Stratotanker, the program has been an embarrassment for the current administration for all eight years in office and has even led to the sacking of a few high ranking Air Force officials.

Ironically, McCain is one of the responsible parties from the early days of Tankergate. Since then the Air Force had rehashed the bid process and stunned the nation by awarding a contract to Northrop Grumman/EADS for their KC-45A based on the Airbus A330 airframe back in February. Not going down without a nasty catfight, Boeing filed a formal protest with the GAO citing inconsistencies in the Air Force's decision to select the KC-45A. The GAO accepted the protest and helped push the stop button on the KC-45A program in June. The very next month, the Defense Department said to hell with the Air Force and reopened the competition all over again this time running it straight from that 5-sided building on the Potomac. Things got nastier with some other Air Force SNAFUs and people up high on the chain lost their jobs as a part of this mess. So now it is only appropriate in considering the entire nightmare that has been KC-X for the whole thing to be called off.

"Over the past seven years the process has become enormously complex and emotional - in no small part because of mistakes and missteps along the way by the Department of Defense," says Gates. "It is my judgment that in the time remaining to us, we can no longer complete a competition that would be viewed as fair and objective in this highly charged environment." Now we are forced to sit through a "cooling off" period before the next administration starts their own chapter in what was supposed to be an already late retirement for the KC-135. Anyone really surprised? And yes, I realize that is not the current SecDef. It just really captured the theme of this post.

[Flight Global]

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First KC-45 already set for mods?

Very sneaky Northrop Grumman, or should I say...Airbus! After being a bit coy about the current status of any A330 already being prepped for tanker conversion, the team has apparently let the cat out of the bag by indicating that ship D-1, the first KC-45, has already arrived at EADS' passenger-to-cargo conversion shop in Dresden Germany. It had mainly been kept under wraps until late last week due in part to the current protest over the tanker contract award by Boeing. Dresden is just the first stop for D-1. After there it will fly to CASA's Madrid shop for it's refueling systems, then on to Northrop Grumman's Melbourne, Florida facility for defensive systems. All these mods plus assembly should take place at the new Mobile plant when the program finally gets rolling. The KC-45 team is still speculating a 2010 first flight, protest pending. Would it really take that long? Check out the picture below...don't the flags have you fooled?



Photos: Northrop Grumman

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RAF to use new tanker for commercial passengers

In a landmark deal, the Royal Air Force signed a contract with EADS today worth 13 billion pounds for a new fleet of tanker aircraft based on the Airbus A330 to replace its aging fleet of VC-10s and Tristars. The most unique part of this deal though, is that some of the aircraft will be leased by the RAF from EADS' new consortium, AirTanker. And I'm just getting started. Some of the aircraft, while not being used for combat support may be used to transport paying commercial passengers around the world. With an entry into service in 2011, the new tanker, similar to the US Air Force's KC-45, is intended to revolutionize the RAF's strategic and tactical capabilities while making them a little money on the side. I don't know though. Military planes always have that "military" smell in them. I hope the paying passengers don't mind the smell of sweaty man and musky canvas too much.

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