USAF Considering "Fee For Service" Deal To Fill Th
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Posted On: 01/30/2019 6:48:39 PM
USAF Considering "Fee For Service" Deal To Fill The Tanker Capacity Shortfall.
Exactly as I have been opining for several months, given the problems and delays with USAF replacement KC-46A tanker, which may impact how many will eventually be procured and what will be chosen to replace the KC-135s being run on to about 100 years in service, the way forward may lie in the proven Royal Air Force model of contractor owned aircraft.
It is now confirmed that the USAF is considering "fee for service" deals. Whilst $TMPS obviously isn't big enough at present to qualify for the first large deals being considered, as stated previously if they get a foot in the US DoD's door with the Tristars they could always buy some proven A330 MRTTs (like the RAF Voyager) once they have the cash to hand.
Extract from Aviation Week & Space Technology - January 24:
"Expectations shrank dramatically in 2011 following the loss of what was then an EADS-led bid to win the re-competed KC-X deal with the A330-based multirole tanker transport (MRTT). Yet today’s more sober growth plan once again is associated with the tanker as, together with Lockheed Martin, Airbus is looking to fill a capability gap the Air Force identified last year.
Created partially by delays associated with Boeing’s troubled KC-46A tanker program as well as the service’s ambition to expand its refueling capability beyond that of the incoming Boeing 767-derivative, the US Transportation Command (Transcom) requirements call for a platform capable of carrying a minimum of 50,000 lb. of fuel for 1,500 mi. It must perform the mission day or night and deliver fuel by boom, hose-and-drogue or both.
In response, the two companies are studying a variant of the MRTT, possibly to be supplied as part of a commercial “fee-for-service” deal. This time, the MRTT should be well-suited, says Enders. Clearly still rankled by the outcome of the KC-X, he says, “I still don’t understand why the most powerful Air Force of the world would not fly the best available tanker aircraft on the market.”
Exactly as I have been opining for several months, given the problems and delays with USAF replacement KC-46A tanker, which may impact how many will eventually be procured and what will be chosen to replace the KC-135s being run on to about 100 years in service, the way forward may lie in the proven Royal Air Force model of contractor owned aircraft.
It is now confirmed that the USAF is considering "fee for service" deals. Whilst $TMPS obviously isn't big enough at present to qualify for the first large deals being considered, as stated previously if they get a foot in the US DoD's door with the Tristars they could always buy some proven A330 MRTTs (like the RAF Voyager) once they have the cash to hand.
Extract from Aviation Week & Space Technology - January 24:
"Expectations shrank dramatically in 2011 following the loss of what was then an EADS-led bid to win the re-competed KC-X deal with the A330-based multirole tanker transport (MRTT). Yet today’s more sober growth plan once again is associated with the tanker as, together with Lockheed Martin, Airbus is looking to fill a capability gap the Air Force identified last year.
Created partially by delays associated with Boeing’s troubled KC-46A tanker program as well as the service’s ambition to expand its refueling capability beyond that of the incoming Boeing 767-derivative, the US Transportation Command (Transcom) requirements call for a platform capable of carrying a minimum of 50,000 lb. of fuel for 1,500 mi. It must perform the mission day or night and deliver fuel by boom, hose-and-drogue or both.
In response, the two companies are studying a variant of the MRTT, possibly to be supplied as part of a commercial “fee-for-service” deal. This time, the MRTT should be well-suited, says Enders. Clearly still rankled by the outcome of the KC-X, he says, “I still don’t understand why the most powerful Air Force of the world would not fly the best available tanker aircraft on the market.”
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A very apposite motto for those who trade successfully in the OTC market..
All posts are my opinion - trade at your own risk.
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