|
|||||||||||
|
|
|||
By Bill Goldston |
||||
July 10, 2010 -
The Boeing Company has submitted a proposal to the U.S. Air Force to
provide the service with a next-generation aerial refueling tanker
aircraft. Based on Boeing's 767 commercial airplane, the NewGen Tanker
would replace 179 of the 400 Eisenhower-era KC-135 aircraft currently in
the Air Force fleet. The 8,000-page NewGen Tanker proposal, hand-delivered to the KC-X program office at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, offers an American-made, 767-based multi-mission tanker that will satisfy all 372 mandatory Air Force requirements and be capable, survivable, and combat-ready at the lowest cost to the taxpayer. |
||||
|
||||
The proposal was
created by an integrated "One Boeing" team from various sites across the
company, including employees from the Commercial Airplanes; Defense,
Space & Security; and Engineering, Operations & Technology
organizations.
"We are honored to
support our U.S. Air Force customer and submit this proposal to meet the
critical mission needs of this nation," said Dennis Muilenburg,
president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security. "Boeing has more
than 60 years of experience developing, manufacturing and supporting
tankers for
?This
revolutionary tanker will deliver widebody capabilities in a narrowbody
footprint, operate in any theater or from any base, and -- with the
lowest operating cost of any tanker in the competition -- save the Air
Force and the American taxpayers billions of dollars."
"As the only
company in this competition with rich experience in developing and
manufacturing derivative aircraft for the warfighter, Boeing brings the
talent and resources of our existing team and facilities to fully meet
the requirements of the U.S. Air Force," said Jim Albaugh, president and
CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
"With our Boeing
commercial and defense teams and a proven supplier network, we have
delivered more than 1,000 commercial derivative aircraft to |
Based on the
proven Boeing 767 commercial aircraft, the NewGen Tanker is a widebody,
multi-mission aircraft updated with the latest and most advanced
technology and capable of meeting or exceeding the Air Force's needs for
transport of fuel, cargo, passengers and patients.
It includes
state-of-the-art systems to meet the demanding mission requirements of
the future, including a digital flight deck featuring Boeing 787
Dreamliner electronic displays and a cockpit-design philosophy that
places the pilot in command rather than allowing computer software to
limit combat maneuverability. The NewGen Tanker also features an
advanced KC-10 boom with an expanded refueling envelope, increased fuel
offload rate and fly-by-wire control system.
More
cost-effective to own and operate than the larger and heavier Airbus
A330 Tanker being offered by the European Aeronautic Defence and Space
Co. (EADS), the Boeing NewGen Tanker will save American taxpayers more
than $10 billion in fuel costs alone over its 40-year service life
because it burns 24 percent less fuel. The Boeing tanker also will cost
15 to 20 percent less to maintain than the A330, which means it will
save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in maintenance costs.
Nationwide, the
NewGen Tanker will support approximately 50,000 total
Boeing has the
capacity and capability to meet the production rate at whatever level
the Air Force determines -- with a low-risk approach to manufacturing
that relies on a trained and experienced U.S. work force and existing
Boeing facilities in Washington state and Kansas. Boeing will use a
proven and cost-effective in-line production system similar to that used
on the company's successful P-8 program for the U.S. Navy. |
|
Other News Stories |
?AvStop Online Magazine Contact Us Return To News |
|