Today Boeing submitted its proposal for the U.S. Air Force aerial tanker contract, at a whopping 8,000 pages and over 1,200 graphic images. I guess you need that much information so as to satisfy the Air Force's 372 mandatory requirements for their new tanker. Airbus had already submitted their proposal yesterday. As expected, Boeing will be pitting their 767-based tanker against Airbus' A330-based one, with a contract award to come no later than November 12, 2010. Whether the Air Force decides to include into the contest the prickly matter of illegal subsides that the WTO had levied against Airbus remains to be seen. Here are some fun facts about Boeing's tanker (officially dubbed the NewGen Tanker):
* Based on commercial 767 aircraft
* Digital flight deck
* Electronic displays that are currently used on the 787 Dreamliner
* Advanced KC-10 refueling boom with expanded refueling envelope,
increased fuel offload rate, and fly-by-wire control system
* 40-year service life
* Burns 24% less fuel and weighs less than A330 tanker
* Saves American taxpayers more than $10 billion in fuel costs
* Supports approximately 50,000 U.S. jobs and more than 800
suppliers in more than 40 states
* Manufacturing to take place in existing facilities in Washington and
Kansas
NewGen Tanker Website
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