KC 767 Toutes versions

Boeing: Tanker Boom Can Meet USAF Demand

Dec 8, 2009



By Amy Butler


NEW YORK — Boeing has a plan in place to meet the Pentagon’s refueling boom requirements for the KC-X aerial tanker competition, according to the company’s defense sector chief.

The Pentagon’s draft request for proposals (RFP) “drives us toward a 767-based platform” for the company’s KC-X proposal, said Dennis Muilenburg, chief executive officer of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, during an interview last week at the Credit Suisse/Aviation Week Aerospace and Defense Finance conference here.

The company has been widely expected to propose a 767-based tanker, but has not formally announced its selection. Muilenburg’s comments are the closest the company has come in public to committing to a platform.

A challenge for Boeing is addressing the Pentagon’s 1,200 gallon-per-minute (GMP) offload rate from the refueling boom. This need is based on the demands of the C-5, which is the Air Force’s largest cargo hauler. EADS says the Multirole Tanker Transport designed for Australia and its baseline model for the KC-X competition can meet the requirement. However, the Northrop Grumman/EADS North America team has threatened to walk away from the competition without some changes to the Air Force draft RFP that take into account the attributes of a larger, A330-based design.

Boeing’s fifth-generation refueling boom developed for Japan can offload 900 gallons per minute, according to company officials. So, development work would be required to improve its performance for the USAF competition.

“We have been doing some independent work on the boom,” Muilenburg says. “The flow rate on this boom is a higher flow rate than what we have on the current 767 tankers that we have delivered to Japan. But we have come up with a way to meet the requirement.”

The draft RFP for KC-X released in September says the development work will take place under a fixed-price development contract, a point of contention for both Boeing and Northrop Grumman/EADS North America. Both manufacturers worry about taking on too much risk if they win the duel, and Boeing’s boom development is one of the areas in question.

Muilenburg says Boeing has “resolved” the issue of the boom development, but he declined to offer comments on how. He also did not say whether it would require significant USAF funding to mature for the Air Force program.

A final request for proposals is expected in January.