Thu, Feb 22, 2007
UAE, Saudi Arabia Select MRTT Over KC-767
Don't look now... but Airbus appears to be steadily increasing
its foothold on the global aerial refueling market, at a time when
the company is locked in competition with Boeing for a lucrative US
Air Force contract. On Wednesday, reports surfaced of two new
global orders for Airbus' A330-derived tanker, from Saudi Arabia
and the United Arab Emirates.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports neither order is very big
-- two for Saudi Arabia, three for the UAE -- but those are just
numbers. The true significance from both orders lies in the fact
two more customers have selected Airbus, over Boeing and its KC-767
tanker offering.
News of the selection of the Airbus KC-30 Multi-Role Tanker
Transport, or MRTT, follows earlier announcements from the
governments of Britain and Australia they were also going with the
Airbus plane, over the Boeing offering. Boeing has secured orders
for the KC-767 from Italy and Japan.
"Boeing would like to thank the United Arab Emirates for
considering the KC-767 Tanker," the company said in a prepared
statement. "We were hoping that the U.A.E. would delay any tanker
acquisition decisions until the US Air Force selected its KC-X
competition winner in October. That would have allowed them to
consider our new KC-767 Advanced Tanker platform as our best
offer."
The appeal of each plane depends on how each country plans to
use it. The larger A330-derived MRTT can carry more fuel than the
KC-767, as well as more cargo and passengers. Conversely, Boeing
touts the narrower focus of the 767-based offering -- its emphasis
is on aerial refueling, with airlift duties of lesser importance --
as well as its cheaper price tag.
Analysts believe the latter point still gives Boeing the
advantage when it comes to landing the 179-plane USAF tanker
contract, as the Air Force looks to replace its aging fleet of
KC-135s. But with Airbus winning more orders overseas... the
competition may still, in fact, be Boeing's to lose.
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