US Air Force's New Tanker Cannot Refuel the V-22

mpenguin1 · March 25th, 2008, 00:00

The United States Air Force recently awarded a contract to build its new aerial refueling platform to the European defense consortium EADS. Incredibly, sources inside the Pentagon reveal the EADS design is unable to refuel the service's revolutionary new tilt-rotor V-22 aircraft.

According to a "Key System Requirements Comparison" compiled by the Air Force and acquired by TankerBlog.com, while the Boeing tanker provides refueling options "throughout the entire flight envelope," the EADS plane provides "no tilt rotor refueling... "

http://www.defencetalk.com/news/publ...2100015356.php

Hacker15e · March 25th, 2008, 00:14

Is that something that anybody cares about? The aircraft that the V-22 is replacing can't refuel from the 10 or the 135 currently, either.

bravodelta79 · March 25th, 2008, 00:57

Yeah -- who wants their tail chopped off by those 38' tall props?

YIKES!!

mpenguin1 · March 25th, 2008, 01:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hacker15e

Is that something that anybody cares about? The aircraft that the V-22 is replacing can't refuel from the 10 or the 135 currently, either.

I don't know, it seems to be a concern of the military & it was a requirement of the bid.

Mike Lewis · March 25th, 2008, 05:27

On the surface it sounds bad, but it's all about risks and trade-offs.

I wonder what requirements the 767 was given waivers for.

In all my years of acquisition experience, I have yet to come across ANY solution that satisfies 100% of the requirements.

Someone decided that the benefits of the A330 outweighed the risk of not being able to refuel tilt-rotor craft. It happens all the time; someone decides they'd rather go with platform X which might have better battlefield survivability than platform Y which might have greater range.

In addition to never seeing a solution that satisfies 100% of the requirements, every source selection I was involved with on the government side was protested and yet none were ever overturned. Successful protests overturning awards occasionally happen, but it is extremely rare.

I'm still not saying the A330 is better/worse than the 767; I can only say that having been involved in the overall acquisition process, I believe the process is fair. It's easy for someone on the outside who hasn't seen all the facts to take a single fact and use it to raise doubt in the process. Without seeing all the waivers/tradeoffs and how they are weighed against one another, you can't draw the same conclusion.

March 25th, 2008, 00:00	#1
mpenguin1 Old Skool Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Seattle Posts: 9,863 Blog Entries: 5	US Air Force's New Tanker Cannot Refuel the V-22 The United States Air Force recently awarded a contract to build its new aerial refueling platform to the European defense consortium EADS. Incredibly, sources inside the Pentagon reveal the EADS design is unable to refuel the service's revolutionary new tilt-rotor V-22 aircraft. According to a "Key System Requirements Comparison" compiled by the Air Force and acquired by TankerBlog.com, while the Boeing tanker provides refueling options "throughout the entire flight envelope," the EADS plane provides "no tilt rotor refueling... " http://www.defencetalk.com/news/publ...2100015356.php __________________ To see a world in a grain of sand And Heaven in a wild flower Hold infinity in the palm of your hand And Eternity in a hour. -William Blake

March 25th, 2008, 00:14	#2
Hacker15e Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Lakenpain Posts: 829	Re: US Air Force's New Tanker Cannot Refuel the V-22 Is that something that anybody cares about? The aircraft that the V-22 is replacing can't refuel from the 10 or the 135 currently, either. __________________ Trains were meant to be strafed. 0100011000101101001100010011010101000101

March 25th, 2008, 00:57	#3
bravodelta79 Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 106	Re: US Air Force's New Tanker Cannot Refuel the V-22 Yeah -- who wants their tail chopped off by those 38' tall props? YIKES!!

March 25th, 2008, 05:27	#5
Mike Lewis Shadow Administrator Join Date: Jul 1998 Location: Between KFCM and KMSP Posts: 6,227	Re: US Air Force's New Tanker Cannot Refuel the V-22 On the surface it sounds bad, but it's all about risks and trade-offs. I wonder what requirements the 767 was given waivers for. In all my years of acquisition experience, I have yet to come across ANY solution that satisfies 100% of the requirements. Someone decided that the benefits of the A330 outweighed the risk of not being able to refuel tilt-rotor craft. It happens all the time; someone decides they'd rather go with platform X which might have better battlefield survivability than platform Y which might have greater range. In addition to never seeing a solution that satisfies 100% of the requirements, every source selection I was involved with on the government side was protested and yet none were ever overturned. Successful protests overturning awards occasionally happen, but it is extremely rare. I'm still not saying the A330 is better/worse than the 767; I can only say that having been involved in the overall acquisition process, I believe the process is fair. It's easy for someone on the outside who hasn't seen all the facts to take a single fact and use it to raise doubt in the process. Without seeing all the waivers/tradeoffs and how they are weighed against one another, you can't draw the same conclusion. __________________ uggc://jjj.enagfvalbhecnagf.pbz HSNYEEXXFSUSMQFKVSLTUIMQDVGVPHCXAKS Mr. Pibb + Red Vines = Crazy Delicious Understanding is a three-edged sword.

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