From Flight International

 

DATE: 09/01/09

SOURCE: Flight International

 

USAF starts public search for Air Force One replacement

By Stephen Trimble

 

The US Air Force yesterday took the first public step in the search for a replacement of the Boeing VC-25 Air Force One, the presidential aircraft fleet.

 

The USAF posted a request for information for market sources that can provide three widebody aircraft to replace two, 19-year-old VC-25s, which are converted Boeing 747-200s.

 

An analysis of alternatives performed in 2007, which identified the Airbus A380 as a candidate, found that it would be more cost-effective to buy new aircraft rather than modernize the VC-25s, the acquisition document says.

 

The first “presidential aircraft replacement” must be delivered in 2017, followed by a second and third aircraft in 2019 and 2021.

 

The USAF’s options for commercially-derived widebody aircraft in that timeframe could be limited to the 747-8I and A380.

 

In October 2007, Airbus executives confirmed that they were invited by the USAF to submit data about the A380, A340 and A330 as part of an analysis of alternatives. EADS officials added that the company gave unprecedented access to the USAF for data about its commercial aircraft designs.

 

Asked for comment about the new RFI, an EADS spokesman replied: “We have received it and are taking a look. We’ll settle on a course of action after our review.”

 

In September, EADS North America publicly posted a recruitment advertisement for a business development manager to pitch Airbus aircraft designs for a variety of USAF programmes, including the Air Force One replacement.

 

In the past, Boeing executives have described retaining the Air Force One contract as one of the company’s top priorities.

 

“It is a very important program for the Boeing Company and we have been supporting for it more than 50 years so clearly we understand the presidential requirements,” a Boeing spokesman said.

 

Boeing delivered the first 707-based VC-137 Air Force One to the White House in 1962. The company also replaced those 28 years later with the VC-25s, which would be 27 years old at the time of their replacement.

 

“We are going to respond to the request for information and look forward to supporting our customer’s needs in the future,” Boeing’s spokesman said.

 

Boeing would compete from a position of long-term incumbency and as the sole domestic manufacturer of commercially-derived widebody aircraft.

 

But the US domestic industry’s dominance of the presidential aircraft fleet crumbled in 2004. A Lockheed Martin proposal based on the AgustaWestland EH101 – at the time, an Italian-Anglo manufacturer beat incumbent Sikorsky’s “All-American” H-92 proposal.

 

Transatlantic defence industry cooperation, however, was strained last year by the results of the KC-X tanker competition. Although Northrop Grumman proposal based on the A330-200 was selected by the USAF, the Government Accountability Office overturned the contract award on technical grounds.

From Aviation Week

 

Boeing Only Contender for New Air Force One

Jan 28, 2009

By Amy Butler

 

The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. and its Airbus commercial aircraft manufacturing subsidiary is not planning to compete against Boeing for the prestigious contract to supply three planes to transport future U.S. presidents, according to company officials.

 

"EADS North America's strategy for growth in the U.S. is based on bringing value to the U.S. warfighter; making industrial investments in the U.S. and in-sourcing high-technology defense and aerospace jobs," says Guy Hicks, the company's spokesman in Washington. "After careful review, we've determined that participation in the Air Force One program will not help us meet these business objectives."

 

Responses to a request for information from the U.S. Air Force are due today. This leaves Boeing as the only provider for an Air Force One platform. Boeing is exploring the 747-8 and 787 as candidates, according to a company official.

 

Known as Air Force One, the VIP aircraft officially takes on the name only when the current U.S. president is aboard.

 

The Air Force has been assessing its options for a replacement Air Force One platform since 2007. EADS looked at A380, A350, A340 and A330 options. But due to the tight security that will surround the systems integration tasks of the Air Force One program, EADS would be required to turn over a so-called green aircraft to a U.S. company for modification. While that model is lucrative for the 179-aircraft Air Force refueling tanker program because it was linked to the opening of a final assembly facility in Alabama, the company didn't find value in selling only three aircraft for presidential transport.

 

Some industry officials suggest EADS may have opted not to compete to avoid another high-profile fight with Boeing on Capitol Hill. Buy American advocates hammered the Air Force last year after it awarded the KC-135 replacement deal to a team of Northrop Grumman and EADS North America, which proposed an Airbus A330 variant. That deal was scrapped after Boeing protested and congressional auditors determined that the Air Force broke procurement guidelines. A new competition is expected.

 

It is possible the Air Force could select a Boeing platform and conduct a competition for the systems integration task, a complex set of work to outfit the presidential transport with secure communications and other specialized equipment.

 

The Air Force says it wants three aircraft, one each delivered in fiscal 2017, 2019 and 2021.

 

The new aircraft will replace two VC-25As built on Boeing's 747-200 airframe and delivered in 1990. Maintenance of the system is growing because commercial airlines have retired their fleets.

 

EADS officials say they plan to focus on working with Northrop Grumman to win the second competition against Boeing for tanker work. The company also will continue delivering UH-72A Lakota helicopters to the U.S. military.