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May 28, 2010
- With a recorded vote of 410-8, the U.S. House of
Representatives on Thursday adopted a bipartisan amendment offered by
Reps. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Todd Tiahrt
(R-Kan.), Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), Michael Turner (R-Ohio), and Russ
Carnahan (D-Mo.) to the fiscal year 2011 National Defense Authorization
Act to ensure a level playing field for the KC-X tanker competition. The amendment
requires the Department of Defense to consider any unfair competitive
advantage that European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS) and its
subsidiary Airbus have gained from decades of illegal subsidies. The
World Trade Organization recently ruled that Airbus received billions of
dollars in illegal launch aid from European governments, including
almost $5 billion used to develop the A330, EADS' tanker platform. |
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Boeing released
the following statement on the amendment: "We fully support the efforts
of all members of Congress who share our concern about the unfair
competitive advantage that EADS/Airbus, a foreign company, gained from
decades of illegal launch aid subsidies worth billions of dollars.
“We are encouraged
by strong bipartisan support for a fair competition on a level playing
field. The amendment requires the Department of Defense to take into
consideration illegal European launch aid subsidies in bid evaluations
for
In 2006 the USAF
released a request for proposal (RFP) for a new tanker program, KC-X, to
be selected by 2007. Boeing had also announced it may enter an even
higher capability tanker based on the Boeing 777, currently named the
KC-777 Strategic Tanker. Airbus has partnered with Northrop Grumman to
offer the Airbus A330 MRTT, the tanker version of the A330, which was
being marketed to the USAF under the unofficial designation of KC-30. In late January 2007 the USAF issued the KC-X Aerial Refueling Aircraft Request for Proposal. The RFP calls for 179 (4 system development and demonstration and 175 production) tankers, worth an estimated US$40 billion. However, Northrop and EADS expressed their displeasure at how the RFP was structured and have threatened to withdraw, leaving only Boeing to offer an aircraft. |
On 12 February
2007, Boeing announced it is offering the KC-767 Advanced Tanker in the
KC-X Tanker competition. Boeing stated for KC-X's requirements, the
KC-767 was a better fit than the KC-777. On 11 April 2007, Boeing
submitted its KC-767 tanker proposal to U.S. Air Force. In September
2007, the USAF rejected having mixed fleet new tankers from both Boeing
and Northrop Grumman as being unfeasible because of increased costs in
buying limited numbers of two types annually. Boeing submitted the final
version of its proposal on 3 January 2008. On 29 February
2008, the DoD chose the Northrop Grumman/EADS KC-30, now officially
designated the KC-45A, over the KC-767. Boeing submitted a protest to
the United States Government Accountability Office on 11 March 2008 and
began waging a fierce public relations campaign in support of their
protest. On 18 June, following a series of admissions by the Air Force
on the flaws in the bidding process, the GAO upheld Boeing's protest and
recommended the contract be rebid. On 9 July 2008,
Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that the Air Force would reopen
bidding on the tanker contract. Secretary Gates put the contract for the
KC-45 into an "expedited recompetition" with Defense Undersecretary John
Young in charge of the selection process instead of the Air Force. A
draft of the revised RFP was provided to the contractors on 6 August
2008 for comments. By mid-August the revised RFP was to be finalized.
However, on 10 September 2008, the US Defense Department canceled the
KC-X solicitation. |
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