Yesterday, Reuters reported Lockheed Martin withdrew from the U.S. Air Force’s tanker competition. Airbus teamed with Lockheed as the prime contractor in 2018, offering an A330 MRTT. Airbus said it will pursue the competition without Lockheed, We have not covered this segment for some time
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The market sense is Lockheed Martin’s decision boosts Boeing’s chances to win more KC-46 orders. Reuters notes: “The KC-46, however, has been plagued by defects, including problems with an on-board video system and a refueling boom that fails to connect the tanker to aircraft seeking refueling. These errors have cost Boeing $7 billion in losses.
Vertical Research notes, “..the USAF recently dropping massive hints that it didn’t want to run a competition for the next batch of aerial refueling tankers.” They go on to say: “But the Air Force has been cooling on the idea of buying another aircraft that is similar to the current Boeing KC-46, and has been looking at developing an all new tanker called Next Generation Air-refueling System (NGAS) instead. Lockheed is now shifting its focus to NGAS, leaving Airbus stranded even though it has spent a fortune lobbying in DC for its tanker bid.”
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