S'pore buys Airbus Tankers, replace KC-135s

[Sammyboy RSS Feed]

An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

Singapore's apparent selection of the Airbus A330-200 MultiRole Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft to fulfil its aerial refuelling requirement appears to give first blood to the European manufacturer in what will no doubt be a long and hard-fought competition with its main competitor, Boeing, for global military tanker sales.

In January it was reported that the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) had signed for six MRTT aircraft in late 2013. While Airbus have so far declined to comment, the sale, if confirmed, would be a blow for Boeing as Singapore was the first international operator to request information on the KC-46A tanker being developed for the US Air Force (USAF).

"I wouldn't comment on Singapore - they'll make their decision in their own time," Chris Raymond, Boeing Defense Space and Security (BDS) Vice President, Business Development and Strategy told reporters ahead of the Singapore Airshow on 10 February, although he did add that the company still considers Singapore to be an opportunity for its tanker.

"No matter the outcome of [Singapore], or any of the other [requirements], we're going to always have competition. From our viewpoint, the competitions get decided on the [aircraft's] merits and where the geo-political relationships are at the time. Those things all come together, so regardless of what happens [in Singapore] we are going to stay focused on [fulfilling the needs] of the tanker countries of the world," Raymond said.

The global military tanker market could be worth upwards of USD21 billion over the next 10 years (excluding the USAF's expected USD58 billion KC-Y requirement), and the RSAF requirement represented the opening salvo in a long-term head-to-head effort by both companies to capture as much of this market share as possible.

With Airbus having originally beaten Boeing to the USAF's USD30 billion KC-X contract for up to 179 aircraft in 2008, only to have the decision subsequently reversed in 2011, the report that Singapore has opted for the A330 over the KC-46A in the first head-to-head competition between the two platforms since then will come as some satisfaction to the European manufacturer.

Despite its USAF disappointment, Airbus has secured orders for its A330-200 MRTT with Australia, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and expects to sign with India shortly. Officials have identified further tanker-transport opportunities with Algeria, Canada, Chile, Egypt, the European Defence Agency, France, Peru, Turkey, South Africa, and South Korea, as well as the follow-on KC-Y and KC-Z requirements for the USAF.

Airbus and Boeing have both been busy citing the relative merits of their offerings - the former can off-load a greater fuel load over a greater distance while carrying more cargo, while the latter claims lower fuel burn costs and the ability to operate from smaller airfields, as well as offering the massive USAF support structure that any prospective export customer will be able to tap into.

Whether it is Airbus or Boeing that eventually comes out on top in the long-term is uncertain, but what is clear is the growing importance that countries are placing in the ability to conduct aerial refuelling. During the NATO air campaign over Libya in 2011, for example, the USAF in Europe (USAFE) tanker force flew two-and-a-half times its normal annual flight hours (15,000 hours in about 2,300 sorties, compared with the normal rate of around 6,500 hours per year). The long-distance nature of the campaign (in the early days UK Panavia Tornados flew strike missions direct from their home bases), highlighted the importance of tanking. This was later borne out when it emerged after the campaign that of the 26,500 sorties flown during the eight months, 25% were flown by tankers.

With a maritime domain as large as that of the Asia-Pacific region the need for aerial refuelling becomes even more acute, and both Airbus and Boeing will be pushing this message hard at the Singapore Airshow.


Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com.