“Make no mistake … this tanker will be American built.”
In a media briefing Wednesday, Northrop Grumman officials, along with political leaders from Alabama, pounded home two messages. First, the KC-30 is not a foreign-made tanker. And the Northrop-EADS KC-30 is the tanker of the future.
The consortium of Northrop-EADS will compete against the Boeing Co. for a lucrative contract supplying the U.S. Air Force with 179 aerial refueling tankers. The companies’ bids are due April 12.
Northrop and EADS, the parent company of European plane maker Airbus, will base their tanker off of an A330. The Airbus jet came out roughly a decade after Boeing’s 767. The KC-30 will be produced in Alabama.
Boeing plans to offer the Air Force its KC-767, derived from its commercial jet built in Everett. The company plans to rely on Everett to assemble the 767 but will modify it elsewhere. (To learn more about Boeing unions’ concerns over potential tanker outsourcing, http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/07/02/03/100bus_tanker001.cfm).
For more about the Northrop tanker, look for a story in tomorrow’s Herald.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
