https://www.defensenews.com/air/2023...o-go-it-alone/
Lockheed drops US Air Force tanker bid; partner Airbus to go it alone
WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin has endedits effort to compete for a U.S. Air Force contract to build the service’s
next wave of 75 refueling tankers.
But Airbus, with whom Lockheed Martin had planned to build the proposed
LMXT strategic tanker, will still compete for the
KC-135 recapitalization. LMXT would have been based on Airbus’s A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport.
“Airbus remains committed to providing the U.S. Air Force and our warfighters with the most modern and capable tanker on the market and will formally respond to the United States Air Force KC-135 recapitalization” request for information, an Airbus spokesperson said in a Monday statement to Defense News.
“The A330 U.S.-MRTT is a reliable choice for the U.S. Air Force; one that will deliver affordability, proven performance and unmatched capabilities.”
Lockheed spokeswoman Stephanie Stinn said in an earlier statement the company had decided not to respond to the Air Force’s RFI. The news was
first reported by Reuters.
Stinn said Lockheed plans to transition the team and resources working on the proposed LMXT strategic tanker to other programs, including the next-generation aerial refueling system, or NGAS, program.
In a follow-up email, Stinn said the Air Force’s decision earlier this year to accelerate NGAS was one of several factors that led it to drop its pursuit of LMXT and focus on the next-generation tanker, along with other elements in the recent RFI. Lockheed declined to say how much it and Airbus spent to develop LMXT.…..