Tanker PFI announced...after many years.
 

MINISTRY OF DEFENCE 6 June 2007
New RAF tanker and transport aircraft programme approved by MoD

Defence Minister Lord Drayson today announced that the Government had
approved a PFI solution as the most cost-effective way of replacing
the RAF's fleet of VC10 and TriStar aircraft. The Ministry of Defence
will now proceed towards the financial and contractual close of the
FSTA (Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft) PFI deal with AirTanker Ltd.
AirTanker Ltd is expected to begin the fund raising process shortly.
Lord Drayson said:

"FSTA will provide the RAF with a modern air-to-air refuelling and
strategic air transport capability which is crucial in this era of
expeditionary operations. It will replace the RAF's fleet of VC10 and
TriStar aircraft. A PFI solution is the best way to provide our Armed
Forces with significantly improved capability." "The Ministry of
Defence and AirTanker Ltd will now work together to secure financial
and contractual close on a PFI deal as quickly as possible."

Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy, Chief of the Air Staff added:

"This announcement represents an enormous step forward in this vital
programme for the RAF and UK Defence. Air-to-Air refuelling and
strategic airlift are fundamental to the UK's expeditionary
capability and FSTA is a crucial part of that. Although our current
fleets of VC10 and Tristar aircraft are doing a superb job, both
fleets are coming towards the end of their useful lives. I am,
therefore, delighted that this key milestone has been achieved, and I
look forward to getting the new aircraft and facilities into service
as soon as possible."

ENDS

Notes
1. The MoD's website can be found at http://www.mod.uk
2. AirTanker Ltd was selected as Preferred Bidder through competition
and its shareholders, consist of Cobham EADS, Rolls-Royce, VT and
Thales.
3. FSTA is a project to assess the feasibility of a PFI solution to
replace the RAF's Fleet of VC10 and TriStar aircraft.
4. AirTanker Ltd's service solution is predicated on provision of
Airbus A330-200 aircraft plus associated training, infrastructure,
and through life maintenance support.

And he also added that "we will make them as safe as they need to be, though we err are err not quite sure what that is yet".

"The Ministry of Defence will now proceed towards the financial and contractual close of the FSTA (Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft) PFI deal with AirTanker Ltd."

So after all these years since the downselect to preferred bidder, they still haven't actually got the contractual agreement ready to sign? More jam tomorrow announcements from the floppy-haired fool.....

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/to...cle1894035.ece
Quote:
The MoD claimed that the project would directly sustain avour 3,000 jobs in the UK, and a further 4,500 indirectly.
Could be wrong (not for the first time) but that does seem very high for less than 20 aircraft:(

any likelihood of RAF and bmi doing a deal on training up crews as I believe QF and RAAF are doing with A330K/Wedgetail?

If SMB won't go for it I bet Dermot Mannion would - if rugby can be played at Croke Park... :)

Ironic how a word like cost can devalue a word like effective.

And when I first moved to the VC10 tanker fleet there was a prospect :rolleyes: that I could see a new tanker coming into service ....... and I have now been out the RAF for over 2 years.

Pathetic. What has changed since a year ago or 3 years ago? Nothing. What have these tossers been doing all these years ...... except polishing their effing arses on posh and expensive chairs? Wankers.

Well Mr B, I am not sure where you stand on this:confused: Get off that fence...

It will be nice to see what happens next... I believe the jets were supposed to be in-service this year??? How long for the 10 now???

We need to see more flesh on this plan.

Tonks :rolleyes:

Oi! BEagle! 10 posts and counting fella! Get in there son!

I will cheer when the first aircraft actually arrives, until then fingers crossed.

AdLib, I've been working my nuts off this week on the world's only in-service 21st Century tanker, the A310MRTT, thanks very much.

We've literally just completed the first phase of System Acceptance Testing of the upgraded Mission Computer System. Which does the planning and management of AAR missions and is operated by the Air Refuelling Operator; MCS workload is low and the next phase is to include trail planning and management, already under development. A bit like an automatic AARC. But none of that primitive RAPs nonsense - this is much more gucci. Neither does it get drunk down route, have 'blonde moments' :p or dent hire cars etc.

I've no idea what's intended for the A330K, but I guarantee that the crews will like it if the requirements of the AAR role are taken fully into account by the manufacturer. Personally I canot see the A330K ARO position being filled by people without considerable navigation experience; the GAF/CF have certainly accepted this for their A310MRTT and CC-150T AROs. Ex-Tornado navigators, perhaps?

14 nice new jets :ok:. But no probes.....:{

Oi, Tonkenna!

No bloody splinters in my arse son!

See you, and BEagle no doubt, at the 101 do in July? Still awaiting confirmation of my July roster. Fingers crossed.

Although our current
fleets of VC10 and Tristar aircraft are doing a superb job, both
fleets are coming towards the end of their useful lives.

Sorry dont know or care how to work the Quote tool.

A quote from CAS....
Clearly playing the line the new labour conspiracy has supplied.

Comming towards the end of their useful lives?????
Or just plan knackered and still being given servce in an RAF which is (in parts) in a 70s time warp.

PS no disrespect to the guys who actually fly these old ladies.

The Oz air force is supposedly aquiring some of those A330 converted air refueling tankers.
Maybe the RAF should negotiate with the RAAF so they could offload the A330s and get some B767 tankers.

With the mess-up going on right now with the airbuses acquision, I'm thinking the RAAF would be very happy to get rid of them and go for the much better B767 tanker, now the US Congress is about to take them for the US Air Force.

That, of course, means many airplanes, which means lower costs for all, both initially and in the years to come!

Cheers...FD...:ooh:

BEagle: 'Blonde moments'. Who could you possibly mean?

And as for "Denting hire cars". that's not the exclusive domain of the Society of Directional Consultants and Aliied Trades. I seem to remember a pilot (who may or may not be Tonkenna) denting a top brand hire car in Holland using another pilot's head (who may or may not be a fairly senior officer still in the AAR world).

Mr Bernoulli: Hope the Tourettes gets better soon!

Anyone know how many aircraft we are talking about here ?

14 aircraft.

'Much better 767 tanker'? ROFLMAO at that!

Just compare capabilities - the inadequate 767 simply doesn't meet the OzAF requirement spec. It was downselected some years ago.

Yes, see you at the July do, MrB!

Do I detect some goal-post shifting here?

And on the same day
 

This from the defence intranet news briefings


Half of PFI deals fail "good value" test

Half the private finance initiative contracts that have so far undergone "value testing" have failed to produce value for money, the National Audit Office said in a report today. Independent 06/06/2007 p. 46

I wonder which half we'll end up in?