The EU has warned Washington of negative consequences for future defense deals between the US and Europe if a recent contract for Air Force air-refuelling tankers is proven to have favored a US company.

The European Commission called the decision by a European-led consortium not to submit a bid for the Pentagon's contract for refuelling tankers "highly regrettable."

"The European Commission would be extremely concerned if it were to emerge that the terms of tender were such as to inhibit open competition for the contract," a statement from Brussels said.

European aerospace giant EADS withdrew its bid on Monday for $35 billion (25.7 billion euros) in tanker plane contracts with the US Air Force, saying the terms of the deal appeared designed to favor a smaller jet offered by American rival Boeing.

The announcement left Boeing as the only bidder.

The European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company, parent company of Airbus, had joined forces with US firm Northrop Grumman to compete with Boeing over the contract to build 179 tankers, which refuel warplanes.

The EADS move came after Northrop Grumman dropped out of the bid for the contract, which would have guaranteed thousands of manufacturing jobs in Britain, France, Germany and Spain.

Bitter battle comes to an end
The decision followed a two-year struggle against American protectionism, and ended a bitter political battle over the deal, which is among the biggest US defense procurement projects on record.

In presenting his decision, Airbus CEO Thomas Enders criticized the Pentagon for presenting guidelines that he said clearly favored Chicago-based Boeing.

"The current bid is clearly tailored to the smaller and less-capable refueller of the competition," Enders told German press agency dpa. "The conclusion is clear: This is not about the best tanker and also not about a fair competition."

Possible no-bid contract
The US Defense Department said it was disappointed by the EADS-Northrop decision, but it denied accusations of unfairness. The Pentagon may now be forced to award a contract to Boeing without any competition, a practice US President Barack Obama has sharply criticized as a bad deal for taxpayers.

Meanwhile, Boeing used the announcement to talk up its own model for the tanker, based on the commercial 767.

"The Boeing NewGen Tanker will be safe and survivable in combat, will save the American taxpayer $10 billion in fuel costs over its 40-year life, and is American-designed and built," Boeing spokesman Bill Barksdale said in a statement.

EADS and Northrop were offering a larger model based on the Airbus A330, which they claimed had greater capability, lower risk and better value despite its size.

Fight for jobs
The Air Force has sought to replace its 1950s-era set of Boeing tanker planes for years. The Pentagon originally awarded the contract to EADS and Northrop, leading critics in the US to decry a loss of jobs to European manufacturers when they were most needed at home.

Boeing was later able to convince a congressional oversight agency to reverse its decision in June 2008, and the Defense Department officially reopened the competition last month.

Support for EADS-Northrop was concentrated in southern states because of Northrop's promise to build an assembly plant in Alabama. The aerospace duo said 58 percent of the plane and its parts would be assembled by American labor.

The decision to drop out of the competition was a setback for EADS' plans to expand into the enormous US defense market, where its current presence is relatively small.

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The tandem-cockpit aircraft, that began arriving in Tikrit, Iraq, Dec. 16, is the platform Iraqi airmen will use to transform the college into a cornerstone of Iraqi air sovereignty.

Its also the same aircraft U.S. Airmen fly during pilot training.

"It has a very powerful engine for its size," said Lt. Col. Charles Westbrook, the 52nd Expeditionary Flying Training Squadron commander deployed from Hurlburt Field, Fla. "It's fully aerobatic and can do anything and everything you want within the terms of a training platform.

"We'll use it across the spectrum of training," he said. "We'll do contact aerobatic maneuvers with loops and aileron rolls, we'll also do instrument navigation training with them; move on into low altitude and formation flying to tactical training."

The first class will consist of more than 20 current Iraqi air force pilots, some who will continue in training to be the first group of instructors at the college.

The T-6 is the second "step" of an 18-month pilot training program. Aspiring pilots must first complete 20 training hours in a Cessna 172 Skymaster learning basic flight fundamentals.

"The difference, obviously, is in the United States they go from a T-6 into either a T-38 (Talon) or T-1 (Jayhawk)," Colonel Westbrook said. "Iraqi students will spend their entire year in the T-6 and move on to operational platforms."

The more than 20 Airmen in the 52nd EFTS -- in careers ranging from maintenance to life support -- are preparing the school for the incoming class.

"We're covering the entire gamut of everything we'll need to run a pilot training program," said Lt. Col. Jeff Myer, the 52nd EFTS operations officer, deployed from MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. "Everything from simulator profiles to actual aircraft profiles, developing syllabi; not only primary-training syllabi, but also the instructor syllabus and a senior-officer course syllabus."

The faculty is also coordinating operational requirements such as air-traffic procedures with the Army aviation unit at Contingency Operating Base Speicher to maintain airspace for T-6 training flights, as well as standing up maintenance and refueling operations to keep the aircraft in the air and train Iraqi ground crews.

"In a nutshell, we're setting up a pilot training unit similar to what we would see in the United States, but starting from scratch," Colonel Myer said.

After establishing the cadre, fledgling cadets will begin attending the course. The flight training will be part of a three-year commissioning program.

New candidates will first attend basic military training, followed by advanced military training, English language classes and academic courses.

Following the first year, they will enter flight screening. Those selected will then progress to flight training. Officers will graduate with a bachelor's degree and a commission and as a second lieutenant in the Iraqi air force.

Those who graduate pilot training will receive their wings.

"I think there is a lot of excitement within the Iraqi air force with the direction they're headed," Colonel Westbrook said. "They're an integral part of the Iraqi defense forces and establishing and maintaining a secure society where their people are free and able to function in the new democratic government.

"Last week, Iraqis held elections for their council of representatives," he said. "And the Iraqi air force was an integral part of maintaining secure locations for the people of Iraq to express themselves -- and their will -- in this new sovereign nation.

"With little more than 5,000 people, the Iraqi air force still has a nationwide impact," Colonel Westbrook said.
They were able to put reconnaissance and overwatch missions in the sky over polling points, a matter of great pride for the Iraqi air force and the Iraqi people.

"The T-6 is a source of pride for their air force," Colonel Myers said. "We've done off-station training and had pilots from Kirkuk (Regional Air Base) who fly the 172 and the Cessna 208 come in. The smiles on their faces when they see the airplane, for Colonel Westbrook and me both, it makes us very happy to see that. They're very much interested in the next step and they're excited about the program."

"Everywhere we go, whether it's Taji, Kirkuk or Baghdad, we always draw a crowd," Colonel Westbrook added. "They're not only interested in the airplane, but what it means for their future."

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Five years ago EADS had partnered with Northrop Grumman, as prime contractor, to pursue the US Air Force KC-135 modernization program. In 2008, the team was selected and awarded the contract. Today, Northrop Grumman has decided not to submit a bid to the Department of Defense (DoD) for the KC-X program.

The team had expressed serious concerns to the DoD and the U.S. Air Force that the acquisition methodology outlined in the Request for Proposal (RFP) would heavily weigh the competition in favour of the smaller, less capable Boeing tanker. Northrop Grumman’s analysis of the RFP reaffirmed those concerns and prompted the decision not to bid.

The source selection methodology clearly signals a preference for a smaller aircraft. This is particularly disappointing given that the Air Force previously had selected the A330-based KC-45 because of its added capability, lower risk and best value. The Defense Department’s RFP ignores the added combat capability that could be provided by the KC-45.

The A330 multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) is the most capable, low risk tanker in the world today—having been flown, tested and proven. The A330 MRTT has been selected over the Boeing tanker in the last five consecutive competitions and will shortly enter service with several US allies.

This decision does not diminish EADS’ commitment to the US, as reflected in the success of the Army’s Light Utility Helicopter. It also can be seen in the many EADS systems and capabilities that operate with the US Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard. EADS is the largest international customer for US aerospace and defence products, contributing over $11 billion dollars annually to the American economy and supporting more than 200,000 high technology jobs.

EADS acknowledges the support from the leadership of France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain in supporting the EADS proposal, promoting transatlantic defense cooperation as a two-way street and the interoperability that the KC-45 would offer.

EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2008, the group - comprising Airbus, Eurocopter, EADS Astrium and EADS Defence & Security – generated revenues of EUR 43.3 billion and employed a workforce of about 118,000.

Northrop-EADS Team Will Not Bid for the US Tanker is a post from: DefenceTalk | Defense & Military News - Forums - Pictures - Weapons

"After a comprehensive analysis of the final RFP, Northrop Grumman has determined that it will not submit a bid to the Department of Defense for the KC-X program. We reached this conclusion based on the structure of the source selection methodology defined in the RFP, which clearly favors Boeing's smaller refueling tanker and does not provide adequate value recognition of the added capability of a larger tanker, precluding us from any competitive opportunity.

"Northrop Grumman fully respects the Department's responsibility to determine the military requirements for the new tanker. In the previous competition, Northrop Grumman was selected by the Air Force as offering the most capable tanker for the warfighter at the best value for the taxpayer. However, the Northrop Grumman and EADS team is very disappointed that the revised source selection methodology now dramatically favors Boeing's smaller refueling tanker.

We agree that the fundamental military requirements for the new tanker have not changed since the last competition, but the Department's new evaluation methodology now clearly favors the smaller tanker.

"We continue to believe that Northrop Grumman's tanker represents the best value for the military and taxpayer – a belief supported by the selection of the A330 tanker design over the Boeing design in the last five consecutive tanker competitions around the globe. Regrettably, this means that the U.S. Air Force will be operating a less capable tanker than many of our Allies in this vital mission area.

"Our prior selection by the Air Force, our firm belief that we provide the best value offering, and the hard work and commitment of the many individuals and communities on our team over many years made this a difficult decision for our company. But we have a fiduciary responsibility to our shareholders to prudently invest our corporate resources, as do our more than 200 tanker team suppliers across the United States. Investing further resources to submit a bid would not be acting responsibly.

"We have decided that Northrop Grumman will not protest. While we feel we have substantial grounds to support a GAO or court ruling to overturn this revised source selection process, America's service men and women have been forced to wait too long for new tankers. We feel a deep responsibility to their safety and to their ability to fulfill the missions our nation calls upon them to perform. Taking actions that would further delay the introduction of this urgent capability would also not be acting responsibly.

"We recognize that our decision likely creates a sole-source outcome for Boeing. We call on the Department to keep in mind the economic conclusions of the prior round of bidding as it takes actions to protect the taxpayer when defining the sole-source procurement contract. In the previous round, the Air Force, through a rigorous assessment of our proposal, determined that it would pay a unit flyaway cost of approximately $184 million per tanker for the first 68 tankers, including the non-recurring development costs.

With the Department's decision to procure a much smaller, less capable design, the taxpayer should certainly expect the bill to be much less."

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a leading global security company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems, shipbuilding and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide.

Statement from Northrop on USAF Aerial Refueling Tanker Program is a post from: DefenceTalk | Defense & Military News - Forums - Pictures - Weapons

"One would not expect us to apologize with respect to getting the taxpayer the best aircraft for the capabilities that the air force has asked for," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters.

US aerospace giant Boeing is poised to win a 35 billion-dollar contract to build an aerial refueling tanker plane for the air force after Northrop Grumman and European partner EADS bowed out.

Northrop Grumman said that air force requirements for the tanker program published last month favored Boeing and insisted that its larger tanker had greater capabilities at a competitive price.

But Whitman said it was up to the Defense Department to decide what it needed.

"To suggest that we should conduct a competition that would result in the department paying a much higher price for capabilities that are not needed isn't effective competition," he said.

"We're going to define what the requirements are and we're going to buy to those requirements," he said. "We're not going to buy more capability than what we need either; we're not going to buy less capability than what we need."

A German government minister accused the United States of "protectionism" and said Berlin would take up the issue at the political level and at the World Trade Organization.

A French foreign ministry spokesman also warned that Paris will study closely the "possible implications" of the dispute.

Some US lawmakers were also upset. Representative Howard McKeon, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, called on Northrop to get back in the race.

The Northrop-EADS team originally won the contract in February 2008, but the deal was cancelled after Boeing successfully appealed the decision to the investigative arm of Congress.

Pentagon defends under-fire tanker bid is a post from: DefenceTalk | Defense & Military News - Forums - Pictures - Weapons

Pilots and aircrews from the 22nd Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron arrived at PAFB Chaklala March 3 to conduct the information exchange with their Pakistan air force hosts.

Upon arrival, the Airmen invited PAF pilots and aircrews aboard their KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft to familiarize them with Air Force air refueling equipment and procedures.

U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Michael LeFever, the senior U.S. Defense Representative to Pakistan, hosted Pakistan Air Commodore Tahir Ranjha, the PAF air transportation director and Air Commodore Khalil Ahmed, the PAF Chaklala commander, aboard the KC-135 aircraft.

"Events like these promote understanding and enhance our military-to-military relationships while also boosting capability and expertise," Admiral LeFever said. "In addition, with the planned arrival of more F-16s to Pakistan later this year, developing PAF air refueling expertise is critical to increasing their airborne endurance and enhancing their ability to counter the violent extremist threat in their country."

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Of the three types of fighter jets in Taiwan's air force, only the F-16A/Bs have a slight edge over the Chinese aircraft, the report by the defence ministry found, the Liberty Times newspaper said Monday.

The island's Indigenous Defensive Fighters (IDF) and French-made Mirage 2000-5s were both inferior to the Russian-made Su-30s deployed by China, it said.

The report came as Taiwan's air force command renewed its bid to procure more F-16s from the United States.

"As the Chinese communist air force continues with its military buildup and the military balance has gradually tipped towards the other side, the air force will strive to purchase F-16 C/Ds," it said in a statement.

Analysts have said they doubt Washington would risk angering Beijing by approving the sale of more sensitive items such as the more advanced F-16 C/Ds.

The United States in January approved a 6.4 billion-dollar arms package to Taiwan, prompting Beijing to halt military exchanges and security talks with Washington.

The deal included Patriot missiles, Black Hawk helicopters and equipment for Taiwan's F-16 fleet, but no submarines or new fighter aircraft that Taipei had requested.

In a report earlier this year, the US government's Defense Intelligence Agency pointed out the weakness of Taiwan's air force in the face of China's fast expanding military buildup.

"Although Taiwan has nearly 400 combat aircraft in service, far fewer of these are operationally capable," said the unclassified report, which was published in January but has only now been leaked to the press.

Taiwan's air force consists of some 60 ageing F-5s, 126 IDFs, 146 F-16A/Bs and 56 Mirages.

Beijing opposes any arms sales to Taiwan which it insists is part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.

Ties between Taipei and Beijing have improved markedly since Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou came to power in 2008, pledging to boost trade links and allow in more Chinese tourists.

Beijing however has not renounced the use of force against Taiwan, which has governed itself since the end of a civil war in 1949, prompting the island to seek more advanced weapons, mainly from the United States.

The United States switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing in 1979 but is obliged to sell Taiwan weapons for its self-defence.

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The aircrew have been trained on fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft and are nearing the completion of their training in the UK in March 2010. They will fly the Mi-17 when they return to Afghanistan where their training will continue.

“I’m delighted with how all the Afghan students coped with the cultural, language and technical elements of their training,” stated Wg Cdr Al Smith, Officer Commanding the Special Duties Squadron (SDS).

“The students, who are officers in the Afghan National Security Force, took part in English classes before beginning their flight training with 10 hours on a Firefly aeroplane before each spending over 60 hours in the Gazelle helicopter. They then transferred to the Mi-17 helicopter, flying over 40-hours each including basics in tactical flying, formation keeping, confined area landings and some defensive manoeuvres. Their training will continue once they arrive in Afghanistan, preparing them for operating in the hot and high conditions there, enabling them to both build on and share what they have learnt.”

One of the pilot instructors is Royal Navy Lieutenant Bridget Compain who has carried out several tours of Afghanistan. She was keen to volunteer when she heard about the chance to fly the aircraft and train Afghan crews in their use.

Lieutenant Bridget Compain said:

"When I heard about the project I was excited about flying the aircraft and the challenge of training the Afghans and it has proved thoroughly enjoyable.

"It is a unique experience to have the Mi-17 in the UK and especially on a military register.

"I love flying the aircraft and the students have been fantastic – studious, respectful and hard working. It has been very rewarding.

"The language barrier is the biggest challenge. But as an instructor you just need to be sure you word any instructions in a clear way.

"But their English has come on a long way and by the end of the course I can speak to them as I would any UK student and they understand all the aviation aspects.

"I'll be sad to see them go. But we are sending them back as professional and competent aviators. It makes me happy to know they have had the best training and will be contributing to Afghan security."

Two of Lt Compain's Afghan students, Karim and Sayeed (preferring not to give their full names for security reasons) said they were looking forward to using their skills for real in Afghanistan.

2nd Lieutenant Karim, who had never flown previously and was selected for the course from the Afghan Security Forces, said his first time flying a helicopter in the UK was "big fun".

He praised the instruction he had received from the British staff but said he was keen to return to his home country and put his skills into action:

"I now want to help my country and serve my people," Karim said.

Sayeed, another Afghan trainee helicopter pilot said:

“I want to work for our people. I want stability in my country, and I want peace in my country, because we are anti-terrorist. We are against those people who are against our country. So if those people are against us, so I am against them, this is for sure. That’s why I am training.”

This is a small-scale project with a high return. Time and effort invested in training the Afghan crews enables an eventual withdrawal of UK forces and the programme has already yielded tangible results. A number of crews have completed their training and returned to Afghanistan where initial reports suggest they are a well-respected, competent and motivated cadre of professionals. The crews trained here in UK are the seed corn of an indigenous Afghan National Security Force helicopter capability.

Background Information

• The two aircraft, currently owned by the MoD, will be gifted to the Afghan government and shortly transported to the country to join an expanding fleet of Mi-17s serving with Afghan national authorities.
• The pilot training programme lasts typically 12 months, consisting of two flying periods interspersed with ground school. Basic flying training begins on the Gazelle and is followed by advanced flying training on the Mi-17. The flight engineer syllabus is slightly shorter. Both syllabi are modelled on the helicopter training given to UK students at the Defence Helicopter Flying School (DHFS) at Shawbury, albeit conducted on different aircraft types. The key to developing an indigenous capability as quickly as possible is to train the Afghan aircrew on the type of helicopter they will fly on return to Afghanistan, the Mi-17. Training Afghan students on the Mi-17 here has the added benefit of not denying valuable slots for UK helicopter aircrew students at DHFS.
• JHC provides a total of 12 permanent SDS staff, many of whom have recent operational flying experience on other rotary types in Afghanistan. Of that 12, three are Mi-17 instructors, two are Gazelle instructors, three staff train the flight engineers and the remainder make up a headquarters element.

* QinetiQ initially provided Release to Service recommendations for the two Curium Mi-17 aircraft, enabling them to be placed on the UK military register, with follow on recommendations to increase capability. It has subsequently provided a comprehensive range of managed services including airworthiness capability and the full range of engineering support needed to maintain the aircraft. The QinetiQ team of over 25 has also been fully supported in engineering activities by its sub-contractor Helisota, a Lithuanian maintenance and repair company with extensive Mi-17 aircraft experience. Helisota has provided several engineers with specific Mi-17 experience to assist in the maintenance of the aircraft as well as providing Post Design Services capability.

“This was a unique project, we faced a huge challenges and we were working to very strict timescales,” explained Jeff Gardner, QinetiQ’s Technical Manager of Project Curium.

“You have to be pragmatic when faced with these challenges, but we were able to rise to the challenge and approached countries with appropriate experience and experts who had used the aircraft for additional support. The aircraft arrived in the UK with some issues which had to be solved before they could be used for training. The cockpit instruments had to be anglicised from the aircraft's native Cyrillic, although some instruments still bear elements of the Russian alphabet. QinetiQ was also tasked with producing a new maintenance timetable that reflected existing UK operating standards and the experience we have gained puts us in good stead should we be asked to develop civil or military support programmes for other ‘unusual’ aircraft types in the future.”

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Boeing's KC-767 offering is based on the Boeing 767 widebody airliner. The new tanker variant will feature a new digital flight deck taken directly from Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner and a new fly-by-wire boom system. Boeing also claims that its tanker program "will support substantially more jobs in the United States than an Airbus A330 tanker that is designed and largely manufactured in Europe."

Boeing had initially selected Pratt & Whitney PW4062 engines for its KC-X entrant, but has reportedly considered General Electric's GEnx engine developed for the 787 and 747-8.

The company has built KC-767 tankers for Italy and Japan, but these aircraft do not feature the 787's cockpit and use mission systems that are substantially different from those to be used in the KC-X aircraft, due to the U.S. Air Force's different requirements.

Boeing to Go with KC-767 in Tanker Contest is a post from: DefenceTalk | Defense & Military News - Forums - Pictures - Weapons

Northrop Grumman said that it had decided not to bid to build the new planes because the US Air Force's requirements for the KC-X tanker program, published last month, favored Boeing.

The Defense Department's request for proposals "clearly favors Boeing's smaller refueling tanker and does not provide adequate value recognition of the added capability of a larger tanker, precluding us from any competitive opportunity," said Wes Bush, chief executive and president of the US defense contractor.

The Pentagon said it regretted Northrop's decision.

"We are disappointed by Northrop's decision not to submit a bid for the US Air Force tanker replacement program," said William Lynn, deputy secretary of defense.

"In the last tanker replacement competition, Northrop Grumman competed well on both price and non-price factors. We strongly believe that the current competition is structured fairly and that both companies could compete effectively."

The Northrop-EADS team had won the contract in February 2008, but the deal was canceled after Boeing successfully appealed the decision to the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress.

Northrop and EADS, the parent of Boeing's arch-rival Airbus, at the time had offered a modified version of the commercial Airbus A330, while Boeing had proposed a 767-based tanker.

"This is particularly disappointing given that the Air Force previously had selected the A330-based KC-45 because of its added capability, lower risk and best value," the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) said in a statement on Monday.

With the exit of Northrop and EADS, Boeing is in prime position to snare the contract to replace the 1950s-era aging fleet of Boeing tankers.

The US aerospace giant Boeing announced last week it would offer a modified version of its 767 commercial airliner, which is smaller than the A330 and consumes less fuel.

The Chicago-based firm had said it would submit its proposal by May 10, within the 75-day period set out in the Pentagon's request for proposals.

Boeing's plane will save American taxpayers 10 billion dollars in fuel costs and "is American designed and built," company spokesman Bill Barksdale said after the rival team's announcements.

The Pentagon has struggled since 2003 to get a new tanker built.

That year the Pentagon awarded a contract to Boeing but later suspended it amid an ethics scandal involving a company executive and an Air Force official, who was subsequently convicted of criminal conspiracy.

Monday's pullout may be just another twist in the tortured contest, said Richard Aboulafia, vice president of Teal Group Corp.

"This looks like a significant Boeing win, but we?ve seen several other false starts to this program," Aboulafia said.

"Additional congressional scrutiny is likely, but congressmen and senators scrutinize programs most heavily when they can produce results for their districts. If there's no competition, there's little to be gained from paying more than a token amount of attention," he told AFP.

An Alabama senator whose state would have benefited from EADS's promised plant to assemble the tankers, creating 300 jobs, accused the US Air Force of bowing to political pressure.

"The Air Force had a chance to deliver the most capable tanker possible to our warfighters and blew it," US Senator Richard Shelby said.

"This so-called competition was not structured to produce the best outcome for our men and women in uniform; it was structured to produce the best outcome for Boeing," the Republican lawmaker said.

The top Republican member of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee called on Northrop to get back in the race.

"I hope Northrop reconsiders its decision in the coming weeks," said Representative Howard McKeon.

"I still believe that competition produces the most effective solutions for our warfighters and ensures the best value for US taxpayers."

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