Free Republic

SIERRA VISTA — The Forest Service’s Air Tanker Base operations opened earlier than its planned May 10 date, albeit it is currently operating out of the Sierra Vista Municipal Airport, not from Fort Huachuca’s Libby Army Airfield. Gilbert Gil, Coronado National Forests Sierra Vista Ranger District Air Tanker Base manager, said the Army is planning to make repairs to some of the area on the post which support aircraft operations for the Forest Service, requiring the need to move the functions to the city’s airport. Tuesday morning the site on the civilian side of the airfield was busy as three...

The last new KC-135 Stratotanker was delivered to the U.S. Air Force in 1964. After nearly a decade of war, the fleet’s age is showing, most profoundly to the men and women on the ground who keep the 415 tankers flying. Two wars, political bickering, shady dealings and Air Force missteps have delayed the development of a new airborne refueling tanker for much of the past decade. In the meantime, airmen are left to keep this Eisenhower-era granddaddy of the fleet mission-ready, an increasingly difficult and expensive task. “How many cars do you see driving from 1956?” asked Staff Sgt....

Europe's EADS would likely choose L-3 Communications Holdings Inc as a key supplier, should it decide to challenge Boeing Co for a U.S. aerial refueling contract worth up to $50 billion, according to analysts and sources following the matter. "Based on what we know today -- and things can change -- it appears that L-3 seems to be the likely subcontractor," Scott Hamilton of Leeham Co said, noting that there is a large faction within EADS that wants to move ahead with a bid. Analysts say a strong agreement could help EADS in what is seen as an uphill battle...

European plane-maker Airbus will decide in two to three weeks whether to compete for a US military contract to build an aerial refuelling tanker, its chief said in an interview published Monday. Airbus's parent company, EADS, and its US partner Northrop Grumman dropped a joint bid for the contract earlier in March as the companies alleged that the Pentagon's requirements were skewed in favour of US aerospace giant Boeing. "The Pentagon has asked us to decide if we would like to participate, but this time as the main contractor," Airbus chief executive Thomas Enders told the Financial Times Deutschland. "It...

European airspace giant EADS has called for a 90-day extension to the tendering process for a multi-billion-dollar deal to supply the US air force with tanker jets, a Pentagon official said Friday. "They've indicated to the department that they would like to see us extend the time frame 90 days," spokesman Bryan Whitman said. The tendering process is due to close around mid-May. "We would consider reasonable extensions," Whitman said, adding that the "next step is for them to give us some specifics in terms of what they need the additional time for." He confirmed that EADS could put in...

Yesterday, US Air Force and Department of Defense (DoD) acquisition officials informed Congress and members of the press on the revised request for proposal (RfP) for the competition for a new aerial tanker. The officials claim that RfP for the controversial KC-X programme, which is now entering its second attempt of finding a solution for the future of US Air Force air-refuelling, is designed to promote fair, open competition. However, it is still questionable if there will by any competition, as the Northrop Grumman-EADS consortium, having been awarded a contract in 2008 which prompted a protest from rival bidder Boeing,...

Airbus/Northrop Threat Revealing by George Landrith Human Events, 12/04/2009 The Air Force has issued a preliminary Request for Proposal (RFP) specifying how companies can bid on the $35 billion contract to build the next fleet of air refueling tankers. A final RFP is due out soon. The two bidders reviewing the preliminary RFP are Chicago-based Boeing, and a team made up of Airbus, based in Toulouse France, and Northrop Grumman, based in Los Angeles. Boeing has proposed building a tanker on its medium-sized B-767 commercial jetliner platform, while Airbus and Northrop have proposed building a tanker on Airbus’s larger A-330...

NTSB Prelim Confirms Firefighting DC-10 Struck Trees Tue, 17 Jul '07 Pilot Landed Aircraft Safely, Crew Not Injured A National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report released Sunday confirmed a DC-10 firebomber, operated for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention (CalFire) was damaged last month during a retardant drop on a brush fire near Tehachapi. "The flight crew was on their third flight of the day and preparing to jettison a load of retardant," the NTSB report says. "While in a left turn from base to final for the drop, the left wing dipped downward and impacted several trees."...

For several years, Boeing Co. has been consistent on one point: The best aircraft to replace the Air Force's aging tanker fleet is a modified version of its 767 commercial jet. On Tuesday, however, Chicago-based Boeing said it was ready to build a new tanker based on any of its airframes, including the next-generation, fuel-efficient 787 Dreamliner. "We have a full family of aircraft, and if the Air Force and the Department of Defense determine a new aircraft is the best solution for replacing the KC 135 tanker, we think we can ensure their requirements are met," said Brian Ames,...

WASHINGTON - (KRT) - As the dust settles on a series of scandals at Boeing Co., the Chicago-based aerospace giant and its nemesis, Airbus, are now jockeying to revive a multibillion-dollar Air Force plan to purchase hundreds of modified airliners as aerial refueling tankers. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., quietly attached an amendment to the Defense Department budget bill last month that would effectively eliminate Airbus from a future tanker bidding competition, leaving Boeing as the only available option for a contract that could be worth billions of dollars. The Airbus defense group - called the European Aeronautic Defense and Space...

A European consortium has been named as the preferred bidder for a nineteen billion euro contract to build refuelling aircraft for Britain's Royal Airforce. That means the AirTanker group, led by Airbus' parent company EADS, can arrange the three and a half billion euros in capital needed to fund the project. Under the Ministry of Defence contract Airtanker will own and maintain the refuelling planes on behalf of the RAF. ABM AMRO analyst Jonathon Paul said this opens up a very closed market: "I think it is important in terms of the strategy and the terms of possible contracts for...

Just two years ago, the Hayman Fire roared through the Rockies, blackening 138,000 acres and destroying more than 130 homes. It cost roughly $240 million to fight. Did that fire have to grow to that size? Did that many homes have to burn? 7NEWS Investigator Tony Kovaleski has exposed a troubling trail of conflict and red tape inside the U.S. Forest Service. Earlier this month, after years of problems, the Forest Service grounded its fleet of air tankers. 7NEWS asks: has the government wasted taxpayer money on outdated, dangerous and underperforming aircraft while ignoring bigger, faster and newer technology? Twenty-three...