Remember, a Multi-Award Contract - by definition -
Post# of 2306
The only 2 companies worldwide with contractor owned large tankers - apart from Airtanker UK which is for the RAF only - are $TMPS and Omega.
In addition, a couple of the many contractors providing "Red Air" aggressor fighter aircraft for DoD training can put small buddy-buddy tanks on their aircraft to refuel just one aircraft with a small amount of fuel. They may bid as well.
Other than that, the big boys like Airbus may choose to bid long-term on the much bigger US TRANSCOM / USAF AMC opportunity which is expected to eventually subsume the small USN requirement. They would have to either build new A330 MRTT or convert surplus civil A330 to A330 MRTT - both with long-lead times - probably 1 > 2 years - so unlikely to be in the mix for the USN contract with those.
However, Airbus could start buying up everything available worldwide - such as the $TMPS Tristars and the small number of KC-135s / KC-707 being retired by minor air forces worldwide as they get their A330 MRTTs - to cover the short-term while they build new.
Tempus Applied Solutions Holdings, Inc. (TMPS) Stock Research Links
A very apposite motto for those who trade successfully in the OTC market..
All posts are my opinion - trade at your own risk.