Boeing Confident of Winning Back Tanker Deal

Reuters ^ | 03/18/08 | Jim Wolf

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Boeing Co's (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) program manager for tanker aircraft voiced great confidence on Tuesday about winning back a $35 billion aerial-refueling deal from a team that includes European archrival Airbus.

Mark McGraw, a company vice president, said he was "as confident as I can be" that congressional auditors would find fault with the U.S. Air Force's February 29 choice of the rival team of Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Airbus parent EADS (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) to build 179 planes.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Did a search as best I could. Didn't find this posted yet.

[pissant]

I hope his confidence pans out.

[Perdogg]

why?

[pissant]

Because I don’t want my $$ going to a heavily subsidized european consortium for US defense contracts.

[Perdogg]

“that congressional auditors”, in other words they hope that Congress will give them something they didn’t earn.

Instead of getting socialize health care they will get socialized defense contracts.

[MHalblaub]

>> Why? << Read this:

HEADQUARTERS AIR MOBILITY COMMAND WHITE PAPER
KC-X: THE NEXT MOBILITY PLATFORM
THE NEED FOR A FLEXIBLE TANKER

The requirement for a flexible Aerial Refueling Aircraft that can operate throughout a battlespace to deliver fuel and/or cargo and/or passengers is rooted in Joint Doctrine.

[...]

http://www.amc.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-070227-044.pdf

Found it today on main page of http://www.amc.af.mil/ and not somewhere in their archives.
As I read the PDF name this document is form February 2, 2007.

[Perdogg]

They why have a bidding process at all? Why don’t we just do like Ron Dellums used to do and John Murtha does for lockheed?

[ari-freedom]

yeah let’s pay more $$$ to get less!

[pissant]

Why not get the euros to make our submarines too. And our aircraft carriers. And our JDAMs. And our tanks

[pissant]

I’m sure if we made them in China they’d be even cheaper. You game?

[thinking]

I sure hope so....the idea of having foreign tech reps on a military base is not good security....

[Perdogg]

FN Herstal makes our M16s.

[Shermy]

“as confident as I can be”

Which is a meaningless turn of phrase.

[ari-freedom]

europe is one of our strongest allies.

[adorno]

Instead of getting socialize health care they will get socialized defense contracts.

And Airbus/EADS is not? Airbus exists on large part because of the socialism that supports it in Europe.

[pissant]

You were talking costs, not allies. Is France in Iraq? Germany? Spain? Belgium? Holland? Sweden? Switzerland? Luxemborg? Italy? Greece? Denmark? Ireland? Lichenstein? Austria? Portugal? Finland?

[Kitanis]

Meanwhile Lockheed is supplying a European Helicopter to the Marines for use as Marine One.. the VF-74 (Based on the EH101) will cost $400 Million each..

BY the way.. $400 Million is more expensive than the VC-25 (Based on the Boeing 747-200)that is the Presidents Air Force One aircraft.

Makes you wonder

[Wiseghy]

Sorry, no sympathy for Boeing on this one. They were soundly defeated in bidding. No question about it. Readiness comes first, anything less is crony-ism and corruption.

Given that roughly the same number of components will be built here, with the same number of workers, it makes no real difference.

[Mr. Jeeves]

Instead of getting socialize health care they will get socialized defense contracts.

That's what usually happens. It amazes me how many people on FR think "Boeing" is a synonym for "mom and apple pie" and that their loss of this particular item of pork is some kind of tragedy for America.

[pissant]

You are reading the BS talking points