Boeing pushes its airborne tanker program

  • Bryan Corliss / Herald Writer
  • Saturday, November 24, 2001 9:00pm
  • Business

By Bryan Corliss

Herald Writer

The Boeing Co. is closing in on one of the largest orders ever for a commercial airplane program — as many as 400 767s to be converted into aerial tankers for the U.S. military.

The order, if it comes, won’t arrive soon enough to reverse any of the layoffs now under way in Boeing’s Commercial Airplane Group. Boeing already has launched the program with the tentative sale of four planes to the Italian air force, and those will roll out the factory door in 2004.

Long-term, the tanker project would cement the future of the 767, said Tom Crawford, senior manager for international development of the tanker. Boeing sees a potential market over the next 20 years for as many as 600 767 tankers in the air forces of the United States and its allies.

"Combined, that could have a pretty significant impact on Everett," Crawford said.

In the 20 years since the 767 was launched, Boeing has sold and delivered 851 of the midsize, twin-engine jets to commercial airline customers.

The tanker deal has been in the works a while.

Building the 767 tanker

The basic airframe for the Boeing Co.’s 767 refueling tanker will be built in Everett. The airframe would then be flown to Wichita, Kan., for eight to 12 months of modification. Modification work on tankers bought by foreign governments would be done in those countries with Boeing kits.

Boeing’s Military Aircraft and Missile Systems Group would buy the planes from the company’s Commercial Airplane Group, modify them and lease or resell them.

The cost is about $175 million per airplane.

The 767 models are more fuel-efficient than current refueling tankers, so they can get more fuel off the ground and deliver more to combat aircraft.

The Air Force is expected to need about 400 new tankers.

The United States and its allies for the most part now use tankers based on Boeing 707 airframes. They’re designated KC-135s by the U.S. Air Force.

Their problem is age, said Michael Sirak, who analyzes defense appropriations issues for Jane’s Defense Weekly. "Some of these frames are 40 to 50 years old. The planes are corroding."

The 767 is a natural to replace the KC-135, given that it was designed as the 707’s replacement in commercial airline fleets, according to Boeing’s Crawford.

There are a number of advantages to the concept, Sirak said. Adapting the 767 to military use would be cheaper than developing a new model. The 767’s engines are much more efficient than the KC-135’s, so it could stay up longer. Since it burns less fuel, it would have more available for the combat planes it supports. And since it’s a new plane, it would require less maintenance.

That’s a big plus, Crawford said. When it was designed, planes such as the 707 were taken out of service every five years or so for a year of major maintenance. But commercial airlines can’t afford to do that any longer, so now planes like the 767 are designed so they require only three months of heavy maintenance a year.

Given that, an air force would get more mileage out of a new 767 aerial refueler, he said.

The 767 also would be flexible, Crawford said. Boeing could outfit them with belly tanks — such as those used to stretch the range of the commercial Boeing Business Jet — to carry maximum fuel. Or they could double as cargo jets or personnel transports, while still carrying enough fuel in the standard wing tanks to refuel combat planes, he said.

There’s even a proposal to outfit the tankers with electronic eaves-dropping devices so they could gather intelligence data during refueling missions, Shirak said.

Boeing started peddling the plane to the military prior to its 1997 merger with McDonnell-Douglas, he said. Several air forces were interested, but "nobody was able to pull the trigger."

In the United States, that in part was because of all the money and attention Congress was pouring into sexier Air Force programs — the F-22 Raptor fighter jet and the Joint Strike Fighter, Sirak said.

As this year opened, the program was promising but slow moving. The Air Force was plowing through the paperwork, looking to go to Congress to buy new planes around 2004, Sirak said.

Overseas, American allies continued to show interest, and in July the Italian government became the launch customer for the 767 tanker, with a tentative order for four and options for two more.

The Japanese government also is deciding whether to buy eight 767 tankers or go with a competing Airbus bid, according to Aviation Week. The Australian government is expected to ask for bids early next year for a number of planes, and the British Royal Air Force is considering Boeing and Airbus proposals for leasing between 18 and 30 tankers.

The tanker project has grown in importance to Boeing since Sept. 11, when the airline crisis prompted it to announce huge layoffs. Lockheed-Martin’s win in the competition for the Joint Strike Fighter contract also was a setback.

All that, Sirak said, has led to a feeling that "we want to keep Boeing viable. Congress really has been pushing this."

And the Air Force, which wanted the 767 tankers anyway, "is saying, ‘If we can accelerate this, let’s do it,’" Sirak added.

Currently, both the House and Senate are considering a defense spending bill that would include between $16 billion and $20 billion over the next decade for the Air Force to lease 100 767 tankers.

The leasing plan was designed as a way for the Air Force to acquire the planes quickly without having to tap into the Pentagon’s new aircraft budget, which already is strapped.

But the plan has encountered strong objections from some officials at the Congressional Budget Office and at the House and Senate budget committees. They contend it is a ruse to sidestep previous balanced-budget agreements.

Supporters, including Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., are pushing hard for the bill.

Murray recently escorted Boeing chairman and chief executive Phil Condit to a meeting with fellow Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Thomas Daschle of South Dakota and Sen. Daniel Ionouye of Hawaii, who chairs the defense subcommittee on the Senate’s Appropriation Committee.

Murray also took Boeing Commercial Airplanes chief Alan Mulally to a meeting with Senate Budget Committee chairman Kent Conrad of North Dakota, another key Democrat.

In the House, Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., has added $150 million to a defense spending bill for a demonstration of the feasibility of converting one 767 into a tanker. Dicks also added $190 million to the bill for a test of the 767 as a platform for the next generation of radar surveillance planes, such as the Boeing-built AWACS.

That’s a proposal supported by Air Force brass, Sirak said. But it’s almost certain to take a back seat to the more pressing need for new tankers.

Even if the tanker money is approved for the 2002 budget, "It would be too much speculation to say whether it’s a 2002 airplane or not," Crawford said.

It’s more likely, he said, that Boeing would start delivering 767s for Italy and Japan in 2004, with the first planes for the U.S. military being delivered in 2005.

But that would mean production of up to 20 767s a year in Everett over the following decade — "good, robust production," said Crawford, that would secure the future of the 767 program. "Commercial is taking a hard look at all of their lines. We’re certainly part of that equation."

The Washington Post contributed to this report.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

A closing sign hangs above the entrance of the Big Lots at Evergreen and Madison on Monday, July 22, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Big Lots announces it will shutter Everett and Lynnwood stores

The Marysville store will remain open for now. The retailer reported declining sales in the first quarter of the year.

George Montemor poses for a photo in front of his office in Lynnwood, Washington on Tuesday, July 30, 2024.  (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Despite high mortgage rates, Snohomish County home market still competitive

Snohomish County homes priced from $550K to $850K are pulling in multiple offers and selling quickly.

Henry M. Jackson High School’s robotic team, Jack in the Bot, shake hands at the 2024 Indiana Robotics Invitational.(Henry M. Jackson High School)
Mill Creek robotics team — Jack in the Bot — wins big

Henry M. Jackson High School students took first place at the Indiana Robotic Invitational for the second year in a row.

The computer science and robotics and artificial intelligence department faculty includes (left to right) faculty department head Allison Obourn; Dean Carey Schroyer; Ishaani Priyadarshini; ROBAI department head Sirine Maalej and Charlene Lugli. PHOTO: Arutyun Sargsyan / Edmonds College.
Edmonds College to offer 2 new four-year degree programs

The college is accepting applications for bachelor programs in computer science as well as robotics and artificial intelligence.

FILE — Boeing 737 MAX8 airplanes on the assembly line at the Boeing plant in Renton, Wash., on March 27, 2019. Boeing said on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024, that it was shaking up the leadership in its commercial airplanes unit after a harrowing incident last month during which a piece fell off a 737 Max 9 jet in flight. (Ruth Fremson/The New York Times)
Federal judge rejects Boeing’s guilty plea related to 737 Max crashes

The plea agreement included a fine of up to $487 million and three years of probation.

Neetha Hsu practices a command with Marley, left, and Andie Holsten practices with Oshie, right, during a puppy training class at The Everett Zoom Room in Everett, Washington on Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Tricks of the trade: New Everett dog training gym is a people-pleaser

Everett Zoom Room offers training for puppies, dogs and their owners: “We don’t train dogs, we train the people who love them.”

Andy Bronson/ The Herald 

Everett mayor Ray Stephenson looks over the city on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2015 in Everett, Wa. Stephanson sees  Utah’s “housing first” model – dealing with homelessness first before tackling related issues – is one Everett and Snohomish County should adopt.

Local:issuesStephanson

Shot on: 1/5/16
Economic Alliance taps former Everett mayor as CEO

Ray Stephanson will serve as the interim leader of the Snohomish County group.

Molbak's Garden + Home in Woodinville, Washington will close on Jan. 28. (Photo courtesy of Molbak's)
After tumultuous year, Molbak’s is being demolished in Woodinville

The beloved garden store closed in January. And a fundraising initiative to revitalize the space fell short.

Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin, Advanced Manufacturing Skills Center executive director Larry Cluphf, Boeing Director of manufacturing and safety Cameron Myers, Edmonds College President Amit Singh, U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, and Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, July 2 celebrating the opening of a new fuselage training lab at Paine Field. Credit: Arutyun Sargsyan / Edmonds College
‘Magic happens’: Paine Field aerospace center dedicates new hands-on lab

Last month, Edmonds College officials cut the ribbon on a new training lab — a section of a 12-ton Boeing 767 tanker.

Gov. Jay Inslee presents CEO Fredrik Hellstrom with the Swedish flag during a grand opening ceremony for Sweden-based Echandia on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Marysville, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Swedish battery maker opens first U.S. facility in Marysville

Echandia’s marine battery systems power everything from tug boats to passenger and car ferries.

Helion Energy CEO and co-founder David Kirtley talks to Governor Jay Inslee about Trenta, Helion’s 6th fusion prototype, during a tour of their facility on Tuesday, July 9, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
State grants Everett-based Helion a fusion energy license

The permit allows Helion to use radioactive materials to operate the company’s fusion generator.

People walk past the new J.sweets storefront in Alderwood Mall on Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Japanese-style sweets shop to open in Lynnwood

J. Sweets, offering traditional Japanese and western style treats opens, could open by early August at the Alderwood mall.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.