Boeing, Northrop talk tankers in Paris

Published 8:17 pm Sunday, June 14, 2009

Both the Boeing Co. and Northrop executives had the U.S. Air Force tanker competition in mind as the Paris Air Show was set to begin.

Boeing isn’t locked into offering the Air Force a tanker based on its 767, Jim Albaugh, Boeing’s defense chief, told reporters.

“What we’re trying to do is make sure whether or not they desire a smaller, more flexible airplane or a larger airplane, that we’re there with an offering,” Albaugh said in this Bloomberg story. “We make five or six different kinds of airplanes. We’re holding them all in reserve.”

But Albaugh essentially ruled out the yet-to-fly 787, due to its commercial orders, and the 737, for size reasons.

Northrop Grumman, which teamed with Airbus’ parent company EADS, talked up its KC-30, which initially won the last round. But Northrop also said it’s willing to split the deal with Boeing if that’s what the Air Force chooses.

A couple other interesting stories coming out of Paris:

Airbus says jet production at its factories could slow as much as 25 percent over the next two years: NY Times.

And Airbus also said the work on the wing for its new A350 will remain in Britain: Bloomberg.