Appel d'offre USAF pour avions ravitailleurs

UPDATE III: The DEW Line has a photo of EADS' bid binders.
UPDATE II: Boeing reaction added, see more here.
UPDATE: More EADS comments added.
EADS North America is submitting its Air Force aerial refueling tanker bid Thursday -- a day before the bid deadline, according to company officials.
"We actually sent this thing two different ways to be sure, ... one by van one by aircraft," EADS North America Chairman Ralph Crosby said at a news conference in Washington, D.C. Thursday.
Noting that the bid topped 8,800 pages and weighs 440 pounds, he said: "We almost had to get a bigger airplane."
The Pentagon expects to award the $35 billion contract in November.
"This is a big deal," Crosby said. "It is the definitive acquisition for the remainder of the century, as far as I'm able to tell."
EADS' Airbus A330-based KC-45 tanker is bigger, uses more fuel and will require more modifications to runways and hangars than Boeing's NewGen offering.
But Crosby noted that the assessment also includes an evaluation of the number of planes that would be needed in the most-intense day of war fighting. He also asserted that his company's risk (a factor in pricing) is less than Boeing's because its existing A330 MRTT for the Royal Australian Air Force is closer to its KC-45 tanker than Boeing's existing 767-based tankers are to NewGen.
"The fact that this KC-45 is in most regards identical to the aircraft, of which two are flying, that we've developed for the Royal Australian Air Force I think is a fact that gives us confidence in what we're offering," Crosby said. "We frankly don't know what the other folks are going to offer. We know they don't have anything flying that represents what they're going to offer."
EADS also gains efficiency from the fact that Airbus is building significantly more A330s than Boeing is 767s, EADS North America CEO Sean O'Keefe said. Even though EADS would build a new A330 assembly line in Mobile, Ala., that plant will use existing technology and methods, he added.
Crosby noted that the Mobile line also would create commercial A330 Freighters, saying the potential freighter market is three times the number of tankers the plant would churn out.
"If you add on top of that the very unfortunate circumstances that relate to the oil spill and the Gulf region and what it means for Mobile and the whole coast … having this kind of economic magnet seems to me in political and economic terms to take on much greater proportion," Crosby said.
Asked about Boeing supporters' efforts to penalize the EADS bid based on a recent WTO ruling that European governments illegally subsidized Airbus programs, including the A330, Crosby noted that Pentagon officials have repeatedly refused to do so.
"We find ourselves in the odd position of defending what the administration said they were going to do," he said, "while other people who seem not to have much confidence in their own ability to win based on the criteria established keep throwing extraneous issues into the legislative process."
Airbus America's Chairman Allan McArtor insisted WTO rules did not allow the Pentagon to take action based on the ruling outside the WTO process. McArtor also noted that the ruling wouldn't be final until the WTO adopted it, which wouldn't happen until after appeals.
Crosby said congressional passage and a presidential signature of a requirement to consider the ruling were far from a sure thing and noted that a European counter-claim on U.S. subsidies to Boeing is still pending.
"The central issue in this competition, quite frankly, is how do you get the best system for the U.S. war fighter. And we've spent all of our time talking about a bunch of crap which has no relevance to the fact of whether you're going to get airplanes that can fly for 50 years and adapt themselves to a changing environment with a substantially greater capability," Crosby said. "Wasting a lot of time trying to derail a process because somebody's worried that their airplane is inferior is a major distraction."
Boeing tanker Bill Barksdale said his company planned to submit its tanker bid at about 9 a.m., Eastern time, Friday.
Responding to EADS' comments that it had a plane nearly identical to the KC-45 it would offer to the Air Force, Barksdale said: "I'm not aware of an airplane in the world that has those 372 (Air Force tanker) requirements met."
Referring to 767-based tankers Boeing has delivered to the Japanese military, he said: "We're the only ones in this competition who have delivered an airplane to an operational squadron that is based on the same platform that we're offering in this competition."
Barksdale said the NewGen Tanker will respond better to pilots in and near combat, have the best flight displays in the world, save $10 billion in fuel costs alone over the life of the fleet than the KC-45, and that "the 767 is 15 to 20 percent less costly to maintain than the A330."
As for the subsidy issue, Barksdale said: "They're offering an Airbus A330 in this competition and, in that ruling, that was one of those planes listed as getting illegal subsidies. From our perspective you have to consider that and you have to realize that for us to compete on a level playing field, which is everything in this, this is an issue that has to be considered."
Meanwhile, both EADS and Boeing supporters have tanker rallies planned.
Boeing workers and Washington state politicians will gather at 10:30 a.m. Friday, at the Everett Machinists Hall, 8729 Airport Road, in Everett.
EADS North America Chairman Ralph Crosby and Alabama Governor Bob Riley are scheduled to headline a rally to celebrate the relocation of the EADS North America KC-45 Aerial Refueling Tanker Team to Mobile at 11 a.m. Monday at the Mobile Convention Center. EADS would assemble its tanker in Mobile.

Ravitailleurs: troisième duel entre Boeing et Airbus

NEW YORK — Le constructeur aéronautique américain Boeing a provoqué son adversaire européen Airbus en duel sur le dossier des avions ravitailleurs américains pour la troisième fois en neuf ans vendredi, en présentant à son tour son offre à l'armée de l'Air.

En 8.000 pages, remises en mains propres à la base militaire aérienne de Wright-Patterson (Ohio, nord des Etats-Unis) où le contrat est géré, Boeing détaille une proposition se voulant la plus économe.

Le constructeur américain propose une version modifiée de son long-courrier B767. Plus petit que l'A330 modifié que propose Airbus, le "NextGen Tanker" devrait consommer moins de carburant, et ne pas exiger la construction de nouveaux hangars : Boeing promet 10 milliards de dollars d'économies de carburant sur une durée d'utilisation de 40 ans, et des coûts de maintenance de 15 à 20% inférieurs à ceux d'Airbus.

"Ce ravitailleur révolutionnaire présente les capacités d?un gros porteur et un encombrement limité grâce à son fuselage étroit", a souligné le directeur général de la division Défense, Espace et Sécurité de Boeing, Dennis Muilenburg, dans un communiqué.

Airbus avait devancé l'échéancier de 24 heures en remettant dès jeudi un dossier de 8.819 pages, après avoir obtenu un délai de deux mois à la suite du retrait de son ancien partenaire Northrop Grumman.

L'avionneur européen s'est finalement allié à plus de 200 fournisseurs américains, certains participant aussi à l'offre concurrente de Boeing, comme Rockwell Collins (avionique et électronique embarquée).

C'est la troisième fois en moins de dix ans que les deux constructeurs s'affrontent pour décrocher ce qu'Airbus a qualifié jeudi de "marché du siècle", l'évaluant aux alentours de 40 milliards de dollars.

L'enjeu est énorme, a souligné Peter Arment, analyste chez Gleacher & Co. Outre la fourniture des appareils, qui pourrait réserver au constructeur choisi des marges de 10% (soit 3,5 à 4 milliards de dollars), le gagnant devra assurer l'entretien des appareils.

"C'est au minimum une opportunité de plusieurs dizaines d'années", a-t-il dit à l'AFP.

En 2003, le contrat avait été attribué à Boeing, avant la révélation d'un grave conflit d'intérêt qui avait contraint le Pentagone à relancer la procédure. En 2008, Airbus l'avait emporté, avant que la Cour des comptes annule le tout, une nouvelle fois.

Cette fois, les militaires ont jusqu'à la mi-octobre pour étudier les offres dans les moindres détails. Leur décision --qui sera susceptible d'un nouvel appel à la Cour des Comptes-- est attendue à la mi-novembre.

Boeing, associé à 800 fournisseurs répartis dans une quarantaine d'Etats, vante un avion tout américain, et met en avant les emplois créés aux Etats-Unis: 50.000 au total.

Airbus assure que son projet créera 48.000 emplois aux Etats-Unis, et souligne que l'usine d'assemblage prévue à Mobile (Alabama, Sud) apportera un ballon d'oxygène à une région souffrant de la marée noire dans le golfe du Mexique.

L'européen met aussi en avant les performances supérieures de son appareil par litre de carburant, assurant aller au-delà des 372 exigences minimales fixées par le Pentagone.

Airbus fait aussi valoir qu'il a remporté les cinq derniers appels d'offre pour la fourniture de ravitailleurs dans le monde face à Boeing (Etats-Unis en 2008, Grande-Bretagne, Australie, Arabie Saoudite, Emirats arabes unis) : grâce à ces commandes, fait valoir Airbus, son appareil est pratiquement prêt.

Boeing riposte en assurant avoir déjà livré quatre ravitailleurs basés sur le B767 au Japon, et remporté un contrat pour en fournir quatre à l'Italie.

Par ailleurs une petite société en graves difficultés financières, US Aerospace, a affirmé qu'elle soumettait vendredi une troisième proposition de ravitailleurs, basée sur un modèle d'Antonov.

Le constructeur russo-ukrainien n'a jamais confirmé sa participation et le Pentagone s'est refusé à tout commentaire.

Another year is halfway through, and another round of tanker bids is in. A winner is expected Nov. 12, though Air Force officials simply say fall.

Don't expect much out of the Pentagon. It appears to be in lock down mode. Air Force spokeswoman Col. Debra Millett says the service will not even disclose how many bidders offer proposals. Clearly, the name of the game is protest avoidance.

Here's Millett's statement:

"The KC-X program is presently in the source selection process, and in order to protect the integrity and independence of this process, we are prohibited by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) from providing further detail.
However, the Department continues to be committed to a free, fair and open competitive process within the parameters of those rules and regulations. We expect a contract award sometime in the fall."

EADS North America turned in its 8,819 pg. proposal a day early on July 9. Company officials were clearly confident in their A330-200-based proposal, but didn't miss an opportunity to point out what they see as public rhetoric from rival, Boeing, which EADS North America Chairman Ralph Crosby calls "crap."

He and his colleagues also flatly rejected the notion that a recent WTO finding that Airbus accepted illegal subsidies in developing its commercial product line should have bearing on the KC-135 replacement program.

Boeing announced today it submitted its 8,000-pg bid as well. Though, its design remains shrouded in some mystery. Officials reiterate that the 767-based proposal will feature a 787 Dreamliner cockpit and an "advanced" KC-10 boom with an expanded flight envelope and fly-by-wire controls.

Each company must meet 372 mandatory requirements to compete; the winner will largely be determined by a price shootout. Adjustments to the price will be made to account for fuel burn, efficiency and facilities associated with each bid.

Meanwhile, the only wild card left is whether California-based US Aerospace will propose three Antonov models. The little-known company filed papers last week with the SEC indicating an intent to bid, but it is largely being met with skepticism.

Any company wishing to compete must meet a "financial viability" requirement that can be proven with documentation. It is unclear whether US Aerospace meets this, and company officials have not returned repeated calls and emails for comment.

US Aerospace Inc. has released a sales brochure revealing the Antonov
An-112KC as a new version of the An-70 airlifter with twin, GE90-class
GEnx-class engines and an extended wing. [Strike-through
explanation: Arnold told me the engines were GE90-class, but the
brochure says they are at the top-end of the GEnx-class -- actually, the
same engines powering the 787-9.]

Although the company asked
for a 60-day extension, US Aerospace submitted a proposal for the KC-X
contract by the 2pm deadline yesterday.

Amazingly, the company
delivered the proposal despite receiving the actual forms from the US
Air Force less than six hours before the deadline, says company adviser
Chuck Arnold.

The sales brochure also appears to be a rush-job.
Apparently to illustrate the An-70's austere landing capabilities, US
Aerospace showed off a photo of the aircraft parked in a snow-covered
field (slide . The image, however, appears be a benignly-framed view
of the An-70 that crashed
in Omsk in January 2001 after two engines failed on takeoff.
Sales brochures are allowed to slightly stretch the truth, but that's
going a bit far.

Beochien a écrit:
Etonnant aussi les options fret et pax sur 2 ponts .... sais pas comment ils font !
JPRS

Appel d'offres des ravitailleurs américains: Airbus casse les prix

BERLIN — L'avionneur européen Airbus, en lice face à Boeing pour un contrat géant avec l'armée américaine, a baissé le prix unitaire de ses ravitailleurs par rapport à une offre précédente en 2008, a rapporté lundi le Financial Times Deutschland (FTD).

Sur la foi de sources du secteur, le FTD indique qu'Airbus, filiale du groupe aéronautique européen EADS et déjà vainqueur en 2008 de l'appel d'offres pour les ravitailleurs américains, se lance dans une bataille de prix pour tenter d'emporter la mise. Le groupe proposerait son avion, un dérivé de l'A330-200, pour au moins 10% moins cher qu'en 2008.

La décision de 2008 avait été invalidée, conduisant à recommencer l'appel d'offres, pour la troisième fois consécutive après une première procédure annulée en 2003. Le montant du contrat pourrait atteindre 40 milliards de dollars.

Après le retrait de son partenaire américain Northrop Grumman, Airbus s'est allié à 200 autres fournisseurs américains.

The U.S. Air Force has begun the formal process through which the service communicates with KC-X bidders about their proposals in preparation for picking a winner, according to officials familiar with the process.
This signals that the service is proceeding with its KC-135 replacement source selection despite the protest launched last week by would-be bidder U.S. Aerospace, which teamed with Ukrainian state-owned Antonov to pitch a modified An-70 tanker. U.S. Aerospace claims in its Aug. 2 protest that Air Force personnel deliberately delayed a messenger carrying the proposal at the security gate at Wright-Patterson AFB on July 9. As a result, the Air Force stamped the proposal as being received five minutes after the due date, and disqualified the company from bidding (Aerospace DAILY, Aug. 5).
The “evaluation notice” (EN) process with Boeing and EADS began Aug. 11, according to these officials. Through these ENs, the Air Force will conduct formal communications with the companies about their bids. This is a very structured procedure in which queries are asked and answered in writing through designated personnel; conversations with bidders at this point are kept to a minimum to avoid any unintentional bias for or against either entrant. Following this course will be key for the Air Force to avoid the overturning of the source selection if the losing bidder launches a protest.
The Pentagon plans to announce a winner around Nov. 12 for the competition to build 172 tankers, work estimated to be worth about $35 billion. This schedule would change if the Government Accountability Office upholds U.S. Aerospace’s protest, which is to be ruled upon by Nov. 10.
Boeing is proposing a 767-based tanker, while EADS is offering its A330-200-based model.