Tanker talk

Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Journalists who aren’t busy writing about the IAM strike at Boeing are instead busy writing about Boeing’s revived tanker program.

As you read this morning in The Herald, the company announced Tuesday that it has assembled a new team of subcontractors to pursue the tanker contract it had locked up, before the Druyan/Sears scandal.

MarketWatch reported that http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B22672A6F-113E-4CF1-9237-D8D30E02A0EE%7D :

Key Quote: “Boeing Co. said Tuesday that its quest to win the U.S. Air Force’s next tanker competition will use the same suppliers as its tanker programs for other countries.”

It also signaled that it’s willing to produce tankers that aren’t 767s, the Chicago Tribune reported. http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0509140137sep14,1,128468.story?coll=chi-business-hed This development comes in the wake of an as-yet-unreleased Rand Corp. study of the Air Force’s tanker options.

Key Quote: “Rumors are circulating in Washington that the study suggests an aircraft larger than the 767 may be the best solution. Boeing has acknowledged the 767 tanker would not carry as much fuel as the KC-135 tankers, which are based on the 707 airframe … “