The Air Force will soon release its final request for proposed bids in the long saga of replacing it's mid-air refueling tankers. Boeing and Northrop Grumman/EADS are facing off again for a massive deal that will start at $35 billion, but could end up over $100 billion.
Nothing about this deal has gone smoothly, and it looks like that's not going to change.
Boeing and Northrop Face-Off in Unfair Battle Over Tanker - General * US * News * Story - CNBC.com
The initial plan was to lease Boeing KC-767 tankers on a sole-source basis; Boeing is the only American company with the requisite industrial capability to manufacture large-body aircraft. As such, the KC-767 was initially selected in 2002[1] and in 2003 was awarded a US$20 billion contract to lease KC-767 tankers to replace the KC-135.
Led by Senator John McCain, several US government leaders protested the lease contract as wasteful and problematic. In response to the protests, the Air Force struck a compromise in November 2003, whereby it would purchase 80 KC-767 aircraft and lease 20 more.[2]
Yet in December 2003, the Pentagon announced the project was to be frozen while an investigation of allegations of corruption by one if its former procurement staffers, Darleen Druyun (who had moved to Boeing in January 2003) was begun. Druyun pled guilty of criminal wrongdoing and was sentenced to nine months in jail for "negotiating a job with Boeing at the same time she was involved in contracts with the company".[3] Additional fallout included the termination of CFO Michael M. Sears (who was later sentenced to four months in prison in 2005),[4] the resignation of Boeing CEO Philip M. Condit, and the payment by Boeing of a $615 million fine in recompense for their actions related to the contract. In January 2006, the lease contract was formally canceled.
United States Air Force KC-135 replacement effort - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yet here we are many years later and many millions of dollars in taxpayer dollars spent with nothing to show for it and ready for the next round of bids on this Aircraft. The end result will be another protest by one of the parties in this bid and still more delays to the military to replace a very old aircraft that should have been replaced years ago. This is an example of how Govt. wastes money and time on a massive scale and in this case it puts lives in danger. There have been many suggestions as to ways to settle this matter and get it done, some say the best way is to just purcahse half from Boeing and half from EADS. However, I have come to the conclusion that the best way is to award the contract to both of them to assemble an agreed upon Aircraft, be it the KC767 or KC-45 jointly so that the warfighters, and the taxpayers can finally settle this matter once and for all. I also started this thread to show this as an example of how our Govt. spends literally billions for nothing, want another example look at Yucca Mtn. 30 Billion for a hole that will never be used.
Nothing about this deal has gone smoothly, and it looks like that's not going to change.
Boeing and Northrop Face-Off in Unfair Battle Over Tanker - General * US * News * Story - CNBC.com
The initial plan was to lease Boeing KC-767 tankers on a sole-source basis; Boeing is the only American company with the requisite industrial capability to manufacture large-body aircraft. As such, the KC-767 was initially selected in 2002[1] and in 2003 was awarded a US$20 billion contract to lease KC-767 tankers to replace the KC-135.
Led by Senator John McCain, several US government leaders protested the lease contract as wasteful and problematic. In response to the protests, the Air Force struck a compromise in November 2003, whereby it would purchase 80 KC-767 aircraft and lease 20 more.[2]
Yet in December 2003, the Pentagon announced the project was to be frozen while an investigation of allegations of corruption by one if its former procurement staffers, Darleen Druyun (who had moved to Boeing in January 2003) was begun. Druyun pled guilty of criminal wrongdoing and was sentenced to nine months in jail for "negotiating a job with Boeing at the same time she was involved in contracts with the company".[3] Additional fallout included the termination of CFO Michael M. Sears (who was later sentenced to four months in prison in 2005),[4] the resignation of Boeing CEO Philip M. Condit, and the payment by Boeing of a $615 million fine in recompense for their actions related to the contract. In January 2006, the lease contract was formally canceled.
United States Air Force KC-135 replacement effort - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yet here we are many years later and many millions of dollars in taxpayer dollars spent with nothing to show for it and ready for the next round of bids on this Aircraft. The end result will be another protest by one of the parties in this bid and still more delays to the military to replace a very old aircraft that should have been replaced years ago. This is an example of how Govt. wastes money and time on a massive scale and in this case it puts lives in danger. There have been many suggestions as to ways to settle this matter and get it done, some say the best way is to just purcahse half from Boeing and half from EADS. However, I have come to the conclusion that the best way is to award the contract to both of them to assemble an agreed upon Aircraft, be it the KC767 or KC-45 jointly so that the warfighters, and the taxpayers can finally settle this matter once and for all. I also started this thread to show this as an example of how our Govt. spends literally billions for nothing, want another example look at Yucca Mtn. 30 Billion for a hole that will never be used.
