Seattle-Post Intelligencer: Aerospace Notebook: Boeing now offers the 777 as a tanker
For more than a year, The Boeing Co. has made it clear that if the Air Force wants a bigger tanker than the 767, it has just such a plane -- the 777, which last year set a commercial sales record. Tuesday, just one day after the Air Force issued a draft request for tanker bids, Boeing began publicly trumpeting the benefits of a 777 tanker.
Boeing used an Air Force Association convention in Washington, D.C., to brief reporters for the first time on the KC-777 tanker, which could substitute as a military cargo or troop plane.
Both the 777 and 767 commercial jets are assembled at Boeing's plant in Everett, and the tankers also would be built there. Much of the modification work required to turn the base planes into tankers also would be done at the Everett plant on dedicated tanker-assembly lines.
Mark McGraw, Boeing's vice president of tanker programs, told reporters that Boeing won't decide until later, after receiving the final request for proposals from the Air Force, whether to initially offer the Air Force the 767 or 777......
Market Watch: Boeing unveils 777 as alternative tanker proposal
........The proposed 777 tanker would have a much larger capacity for fuel, troops or cargo than either the 767 or a rival offer based on the Airbus A330. But it would cost more per plane and would need a longer runway, potentially reducing its flexibility in combat situations.
In documents distributed Tuesday, Boeing said the 777 tanker would have a maximum fuel capacity of more than 350,000 pounds, while the 767 has a maximum capacity of 200,000 pounds........... The Airbus tanker - to be developed by the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. and Northrop Grumman Corp. - would have a maximum fuel capacity of 250,000 pounds...
McGraw said he was pleased that the Air Force included what he called "neutral" language concerning a pending international trade dispute between Boeing and Airbus. In a draft proposal for the tanker issued Monday, the Air Force said "treaty compliance" is among numerous criteria that interested companies must meet.
The language is a reference to a dispute before the World Trade Organization involving Chicago-based Boeing and European jet maker Airbus. The United States has complained that Airbus receives subsidies from European governments. Airbus in turn has argued Boeing also receives government support.........
A Northrop spokesman said inclusion of the WTO dispute could favor Boeing and "does not represent fair and open competition."
McGraw disagreed, saying the language merely asked bidders to take into account the WTO dispute. "We want a fair and open competition. We want to win fair and square," he said.