Boeing won’t offer ‘Frankentanker’ in new AF contest
Published 2:35 pm Monday, September 14, 2009
When the Boeing Co. responds to the Air Force’s soon-to-be-released call for tanker proposals, the company knows what it won’t offer: ‘Frankentanker.’
That’s the name that Boeing’s mix-and-match 767 tanker offering earned from Northrop supporters in the last go-round for the $35 billion Air Force tanker award.
Boeing’s Rick Lemaster, tanker program manager, presented today at the Air Force’s annual conference, saying the company is ready with either a 777 or 767 tanker option.
Lemaster said that Boeing will offer the Air Force a low risk tanker, Reuters reports, rather than one that hasn’t been built before.
Also today, Boeing launched a new Web site, United States Tanker, for the upcoming Air Force competition.
Competitor Northrop Grumman, working with EADS, has the site America’s New Tanker.
Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said the draft request for proposals should be ready soon. He said the Air Force doesn’t need to make adjustments to the RFP based on the World Trade Organization’s preliminary ruling on trade subsidies a week ago.
That isn’t stopping politicians from weighing in on whether the WTO ruling should affect the tanker competition. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., released this today. And Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., sent this out last week.
