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http://www.defensenews.com/article/2012 ... /302280001
Scrapped Northrop-EADS Tanker Deal Still Unsettled
Feb. 28, 2012 - 09:05AM |
On Feb. 29, 2008 — four years ago this week — the U.S. Air Force selected a Northrop Grumman-EADS team to build its next-generation tanker after a heated, multiyear battle with Boeing for the $35 billion contract.
The companies immediately began working on a $1.5 billion development contract that included four test aircraft, which were to be based on the commercial Airbus A330 airframe and given the designation KC-45.
But the contract was short-lived.
A mere 11 days after the contract was awarded, Boeing contested it. Months later, then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates canceled the competition and told the Air Force to start from square one.
When it did, Boeing prevailed.
What few people know is that the Air Force still partly owns two of the four Airbus A330 airframes that were produced as part of the original contract.
Four years later, the Air Force still has not settled termination-fee negotiations with Northrop and EADS.
One aircraft is in storage at the Airbus Military facility in Getafe, Spain.
Another is in Toulouse, France — home to Airbus’ A330 production line, according to James Darcy, a spokesman for EADS North America.
Pictures of the aircraft in Toulouse have popped up on plane-spotter websites in the past few years.
Photos from 2010 show a gray jetliner, with protective plastic wrapped around its landing gear and tape sealing its doorjambs.
Its wings are engineless. The cockpit windows are covered in plastic.
The remnants of a temporary registration number — taped beside the left rear cabin door — still feature the plane’s production number, 925.
The plane, which was once powered by two General Electric engines, flew for the first time April 18, 2008, according to aircraft tracking websites.
The two additional aircraft that were part of the original development contract were still in the early stages of production when the program was canceled and have since been diverted to other customers, according to an industry source.
“We and prime contractor Northrop Grumman remain in discussions with the Air Force as we work toward a fair and appropriate settlement of the termination for convenience,” Darcy said of the talks.
Northrop Grumman spokesman Randy Belote declined to comment on the termination negotiations and referred questions to the Air Force.
Air Force officials said they expect the contract termination issues to be settled soon.
When the Northrop-EADS team was selected in 2008, they had planned to build components of the tankers at existing production facilities in Europe and assemble the plane at a new plant in Mobile, Ala.
