On September 24, 2009, the Department of Defense (DOD) announced its proposed strategy for conducting a new competition between Boeing and a team consisting of Northrop Grumman and the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS--the parent company of Airbus) for a program to build 179 new KC- X aerial refueling tankers for the Air Force. The estimated total value of the 179-aircraft KC-X program is approximately $35 billion. Boeing is expected to offer a KC-X design based on either its 767 or 777 airliner (or two designs, one based on the 767, the other on the 777), while Northrop/EADS is expected to offer a KC-X design based on the Airbus A330 airliner. Boeing would build its KC-X in Seattle, WA, and Wichita, KS, while Northrop/EADS would build its KC-X in a plant that would be established in Mobile, AL. The KC-X acquisition program is a subject of intense interest among supporters of Boeing and Northrop/EADS and other observers because of the dollar value of the contract, the number of jobs it would create, and the importance of tanker aircraft to U.S. military operations, and because previous attempts by DOD to move ahead with a KC-X acquisition program over the last several years have led to controversy and ultimately failed. DOD's proposed new KC-X acquisition strategy poses several potential oversight issues for Congress, including whether DOD has adequately defined the required capabilities for the KC-X, whether DOD's proposed method for evaluating the Boeing and Northrop/EADS bids against those requirements is fair and transparent, whether a September 4 World Trade Organization (WTO) preliminary ruling on commercial aircraft subsidies should be taken into account in evaluating the KC-X bids, whether the Air Force should be in charge of the new KC-X competition, and whether DOD should consider splitting the KC-X program between Boeing and Northrop/EADS.


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    Titel :

    Air Force KC-X Tanker Aircraft Program: Background and Issues for Congress. Updated October 5, 2009


    Beteiligte:
    R. O'Rourke (Autor:in)

    Erscheinungsdatum :

    2009


    Format / Umfang :

    80 pages


    Medientyp :

    Report


    Format :

    Keine Angabe


    Sprache :

    Englisch