Boeing, perhaps more than anyone, should be thankful its rival EADS decided to take one final shot at the KC-X tanker contract.
EADS's move guarantees the contract award will be decided by a competition, removing endless paperwork exercises required for keeping contractors with sole-source jobs honest. The question remains, however, whether EADS truly has a chance to win.
The air force has asked for a tanker with no more fuel capacity than the KC-135R, so the A330-derived KC-45 could receive no advantage for offering perhaps 20% more fuel than its competitor. Only under a price shoot-out, in which both bids come within a 1% spread, will the KC-45's arguably best feature receive any credit.
For this reason, Northrop Grumman decided to withdraw from the tanker competition, leaving former partner EADS with a difficult decision to make.
Of course, EADS doesn't have to win the KC-X contract to achieve some key objectives.
By heeding the Department of Defense's plea to submit an offer, EADS scores valuable points with the world's most important buyer of military aircraft.
By entering what could become a price shoot-out, EADS forces Boeing to accept greater risk and fewer rewards from winning a tanker bid.
And maybe EADS could get lucky. Remember, this is KC-X bidding. Stranger things have happened.
Source: Flight International
