Will A McCain / Airbus Connection Hurt In The Fall?

Something to think about in the Fall campaign for John McCain. As most now know, DOD has opted for a tanker deal with Northrop and France-based EADS over Boeing.

Part of the back story are some rule changes said to have hurt Boeing's chances. To some extent, McCain has his fingerprints on this deal due to previous opposition to the original Boeing deal and a growing reputation as generally anti-Boeing - be sure to see here and Congressional Quarterly here.

Now two swing states, Washington and Missouri, are looking at lost contracts and jobs and Monsieur McCain is in the middle of it all and on the wrong side of the local issues in a presidential election year. How does one say Maverick in French, anyway? I suspect the Democrats will be providing at least two states with the translation.

Comments

[Wahoo Willie]

They're building the bird in Alabama, probably several states get to share pieces of the puzzle. It's a bit strange though. I can't think of any large frame a/c that Northrop ever built. Perhaps that's why AIRBUS is mixed up in it. Typical of DOD though 'Let's go with the lowest bidder, not the most experienced, and the people will never be the wiser when we have to spend gazillions in over runs to bring them up to speed.........

[Hoover]

Willie, they went with the more expensive of the two.

"Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. analyst Troy Lahr said in a research note it was surprising the Northrop-EADS team won given the estimated $35 million per-plane savings offered by Boeing. Lahr estimated the Boeing aircraft would have cost $125 million apiece. “It appears the (Air Force) chose capabilities over cost,” Lahr said."

[WAHOO WILLIE]

“It appears the (Air Force) chose capabilities over cost,” Lahr said."

In DOD land 'Boeing did not meet specs' but I have been out of the system for a while.

[Scrapiron]

Boeing's quality has been in free fall for years. Too many unions and liberal idots in Washington St involved. Seattle needs a wake up call.

[K]

"I can't think of any large frame a/c that Northrop ever built."

Pretty much right. The B2 was big, but not really airframe as the term in normally used. They have never built a large transport type but did subcontract major hunks of the 747. They sold off that business in the 1990s.

Building airframe wouldn't be much of a problem. There are plenty of facilities empty all over America. And many experienced workers. But Airbus and Boeing have been flying their models for years. Northrop could never catch up from scratch.

From what I have heard the Airbus was simply the better plane for this contract. Hardly surprising, it costs more. In competitions you face a dilemma. Do you aim exactly at the spec and minimum cost, or should you offer a better product at a higher cost?

Well, the decision is made. Politics awakens. Howls, hearings and speeches are heard in the land. Will the bidding be reopened? IMO No!

[Mike]

Northrop Grumman Sets the Record Straight Concerning the U.S. Air Force KC-45A Misinformation
LOS ANGELES -- March 10, 2008 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) said today that since the Air Force's selection of the Northrop Grumman KC-45A, numerous erroneous comments continue to be repeated in the media and in Congress. Northrop Grumman wants to set the record straight on the following points:

Northrop Grumman, a Los Angeles-based company with over 120,000 employees, is the KC-45A tanker prime contractor

* A contract between the U.S. Air Force and Northrop Grumman
Corporation for the Northrop Grumman KC-45A was signed on Feb.
29, 2008.

* Northrop Grumman KC-45A primary subcontractors include EADS-North
America, General Electric, Honeywell, AAR Cargo Systems, Sargent
Fletcher, Knight Aerospace Products, Parker and Telephonics.

Jobs

* The Northrop Grumman KC-45A U.S. supplier base includes 230
companies in 49 states.

* The Northrop Grumman KC-45A tanker will support more than 25,000
direct and indirect jobs in the United States -- a conservative
estimate based upon the U.S. Department of Commerce aerospace
industry jobs projection formula.

* Using more recent data from our suppliers and applying the Labor
Department's formula for projecting aerospace jobs at the state
and regional level, the KC-45A will employ approximately 48,000
direct and indirect jobs nationwide.

* Assembly and militarization of the Northrop Grumman KC-45A tanker
will take place in Mobile, Ala., resulting in the creation of
1,500 jobs in the United States.

* Job creation was not a part of the evaluation criteria, in
accordance with federal law.

* The Northrop Grumman KC-45A tanker program does not transfer any
jobs from the United States to France or any other foreign
country.

Repayable Loans / WTO Dispute Issue

* The U.S. Department of Defense ruled that the disputes involving
Boeing and Airbus currently being adjudicated by the World Trade
Organization were not relevant to the U.S. Air Force's KC-X
Tanker competition.

Acquisition Process

* The KC-45A competition underwent the most rigorous, fair and
transparent acquisition process in Defense Department history.

* Throughout the process, both competitors in the KC-45A
acquisition hailed the Air Force for conducting a fair and open
competition.

* The size of the proposed tanker aircraft was not dictated by the
Air Force nor was size an established criteria -- each contractor
was free to propose the best solution and platform to meet Air
Force warfighter requirements.

* Both contractors had ample opportunity in the protracted
acquisition and source selection process to propose the best
aerial refueling capability to meet the warfighter's
requirements.

Reduced Risk to the Government

* The first Northrop Grumman KC-45A tanker aircraft was built in
July 2007 and flown in September 2007.

* The Northrop Grumman KC-45A Aerial Refueling Boom System has
completed 73 test flights totaling more than 200 flight hours.
The boom completed the first in-flight fuel transfer on Feb. 29,
2008 passing 2,000 pounds of fuel to a Portuguese Air Force F-16
combat aircraft.

* The Northrop Grumman KC-45A is based upon the Royal Australian
Air Force KC-30B Multirole Tanker -- which has been built, flown,
and is undergoing flight tests. It will be delivered on schedule
to the Royal Australian Air Force in early 2009.

* Boeing's proposed KC-767AT tanker and refueling boom were never
built, flown or tested.

Industrial Base

* The Northrop Grumman KC-45A tanker program will create a new
aerospace manufacturing corridor in the southeastern United
States.

* The KC-45A program helps return competitiveness to the U.S.
aerospace industry.

Foreign Content

* All modern jetliners are built from a global supplier base, and
the two entrants in the KC-45A competition are no exception.

* Boeing's proposed tanker includes parts manufactured in Japan,
United Kingdom, Canada and Italy.

* Northrop Grumman tanker includes parts built in the United
Kingdom, Germany, Spain and France -- countries exempt under the
Buy America Law.

* The Northrop Grumman KC-45A will include approximately 60 percent
U.S. content. It is America's tanker.

Foreign Suppliers to U.S. Military Programs

* There are numerous examples of transatlantic cooperation on vital
U.S. military programs. Foreign suppliers currently play
essential roles in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the VH-71
Presidential Helicopter and the C-27J Joint Cargo Aircraft
program.

* No sensitive military technology will be exported to Europe. For
the KC-45A program, a commercial A330 jetliner will be assembled
by American workers in EADS's facility in Mobile. The aircraft
will then undergo military conversion in an adjacent Northrop
Grumman facility. All of the KC-45A's critical military
technology will be added by an American company, Northrop
Grumman, in America, in Mobile, Ala.

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a $32 billion global defense and technology company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products and solutions in information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to government and commercial customers worldwide.

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