In the near future the U.S. Air Force will be making critical decisions regarding the purchase of a new fleet of refueling tankers. This decision will have a profound impact on America’s aerospace industrial base and IAM jobs. At stake are over 40,000 U.S. aerospace jobs at 300 contractors, including those at IAM represented facilities of Boeing, Pratt & Whitney, and Spirit Aerosystems.
Boeing’s KC-767 Advanced Tanker clearly offers the best opportunity and value for the U.S. Air Force and for American aerospace workers.
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BACKGROUND - KC-767 Advanced Tanker
The U.S. Air Force’s aging fleet of KC-135 and KC-10 tankers needs to be replaced and the Air Force has begun the process of choosing a new tanker. In the next seven to ten years the U.S. will purchase 179 new tankers, a number that will grow to over 350 in the next two decades. U.S.-based Boeing and EADS, a European multinational, are competing for the huge order. The Air Force is expected to announce a winner early in 2008.
A Boeing victory will have a significant impact on IAM jobs. Based on the Boeing 767 freighter, the KC-767 will be built in Everett, Washington, finished in Wichita, Kansas, and fly with Pratt & Whitney engines. With over 85 percent domestic U.S. content, the KC-767 will support more than 44,000 U.S. jobs and 300 contractors in over forty states. The EADS proposed tanker, based on the Airbus A330, will be constructed of European components that will be shipped to the U.S. for final assembly.
The KC-767 is the right plane for a demanding job. Capable of refueling any aircraft, Boeing’s plane is a technologically advanced tanker with more storage for fuel, troops, medical supplies, and equipment--all fit into a plane that is still able to land at most military bases. EADS’ tanker is much larger, with more space for cargo but not much more for fuel (EADS’ tanker carries 20% more fuel but also burns 24% more fuel while flying). It is also so large that it cannot land at many critical military bases, reducing its value as a military support asset.
The KC-767 has already proven itself. Boeing’s 900 commercial 767s have a schedule reliability rate of nearly 99 percent. With over two years of flight test experience, the KC-767 is currently providing valuable refueling services to the Air Forces of Italy and Japan. The proposed European tanker has yet to get off the drawing board.
The best value tanker for the Air Force. Due to its superior fuel efficiency, the KC-767 has lower life cycle costs and will save an estimated $10 billion in fuel costs for the first 179 tankers when compared to the EADS’ plane. Additionally, the KC-767 is projected to save $8.5 billion in operating and support costs versus the current KC-135.
A “split-buy” would be wrong for America. Considering the KC-767’s many positive attributes, it makes no sense to award this important contract to more than one contractor as EADS suggests. A “split-buy,” where each contractor gets a piece of the overall contract, would significantly diminish the benefits of a head-to-head competition by eliminating the manufacturer’s incentive to maximize efficiencies and by requiring the Air Force to simultaneously develop, test, and purchase two very different aircraft. This would not only further delay the much needed upgrade of the Air Force’s tanker fleet, but would also introduce an unnecessary level of complexity to refueling operations by increasing logistical and infrastructure requirements — a clear waste of scarce tax dollars.
Choosing Boeing’s advanced tanker will not only enable the Air Force to perform its critical mission more effectively, but will also help to ensure that we maintain our vital industrial base and the high skill, high wage union jobs that created the American middle class.
