Outsourcing is part and parcel of our government’s credo. They already outsource everything from Bush’s War to security checks on the Border Patrol.
Although, the Brits are outsourcing to a firm that flies Airbus – not Boeing.
It may be the biggest honeymoon secret ever — from 2011, newlyweds can start their dream trip on a Royal Air Force mid-air refueling plane, and the chances are they will be blissfully unaware of their luck.
Britain’s military is leasing a fleet of aerial tankers from a private consortium led by Airbus parent EADS in a landmark outsourcing deal.
The converted A330 passenger jets can carry 60 tonnes of fuel to refuel up to four fighters far away from base or else serve as transporters carrying 300 troops and their equipment.
Officials involved in the project say some of the jets will also double as charter planes for tourists to earn their keep whenever they are not needed to serve the front line.
Well, the tanker story started long long ago with an attempt to lease tankers – from Boeing. But then a scandal broke out, because Boeing got their deal using an insider (a former Boe employee later responsible for procurement in USAF or sth), and so the deal was scrapped, people were put to jail and they started a new contest which Boe lost to EADS and Northrop. This deal is politically hard to swallow, but it makes sense both from the military and financial point of view and also USAF doesn’t usually back from such decisions, so it’s pretty much set despite Boe’s complaints.
You Americans should be more protective with your waning dollar…I mean, outsourcing to a EU company… with the Euro going up and up against the dollar…it seems just plain bad business.
“Officials involved in the project say some of the jets will also double as charter planes for tourists to earn their keep whenever they are not needed to serve the front line.”
Now that’s scary, fucking “tourists” on the same plane you might need to deploy ASAP?…
It makes more sense than letting the planes sit idle.
#3
I would think that these planes are not the first line tankers, and will only be commissioned to serve as tankers on a major mission or exercise involving lots of fighters.
OTOH, there’s something spooky letting middle class sunbathers travel on a military machine…
There may very well be plans in the making for EADS to begin building freighters in Mobile to take advantage of the weak dollar as well as the new facility there. This will bring many of those dollars home again to us Yanks as well as some Euros. There already exists a Global Supply Chain in aerospace where Boeing is just as active as Northrop Grumman in trade. Airbus buys billions each year in US aerospace products to support their operations making that industry one of the forerunners in helping balance the US trade deficit.