Flight: Fokker Resurrection?

As much as we like Fokkers,  the probably of seeing the NG Aircraft in service one day seems low.
Entrepreneurs behind the long-running effort to develop a Fokker 100 successor intend to modify an existing airframe this year, after securing financing from the Dutch economics ministry.
The organisation driving the programme, NG Aircraft, is [...]

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A400M: The 2003 contract will be amended in coming weeks

Pierre Sparaco elaborates in AeroMorning today:
It’s hard to see what sort of cataclysm could threaten the A400M now. A financial agreement has been reached, series production will begin soon, and deliveries to the seven client countries will begin in 2014.
The only comment that comes to mind now is “all of that for [...]

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King5: CEO says Boeing committed to building 737s in Renton

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AvWeek: 787 and 747-8 for Farnborough?

Boeing is considering bringing both the 747-8 and 787 to the Farnborough air show this summer in an event-stealing move unparalleled since the double-heading international debut of the 757 and 767 in the UK in 1982, or the startling appearance of the 747 at Paris in 1969.

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Boeing to Offer NewGen Tanker to US Air Force

The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today announced that it will offer the Boeing NewGen Tanker in the competition to supply the U.S. Air Force with a multi-mission aerial refueling aircraft that will meet all the warfighter’s mission requirements for the next several decades.
Dennis Muilenburg, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space [...]

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TTU: USAF to buy ex AdA Mirage F-1C/Ts?

This is an interesting rumor.  While the Mirage F-1 has almost reached the end of the line as an operational asset with the AdA,  it remains a capable fighter and should stay in service for about another decade with a few other air forces (Ecuador,  Morocco, and Iran).  The Iraqis have recently requested that France [...]

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Seattle Times: Interview With Jim Albaugh

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Ten Simple Reasons Why Northrop Grumman Should Stay in the KC-X Competition

There are compelling arguments for Northrop Grumman/EADS to leave this competition as well, but overall, we believe that this RFP offers some reasonable chances to NOC to win. Here are ten (very simple - we won’t elaborate more) reasons why we think NOC should stick around for the “final” round of this [...]

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Aeromorning: Abandonment

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Pierre Sparaco is the voice of moderation on the other side of the pond.

The die is cast: Northrop Grumman has given up on responding to the US Defense Department’s invitation to tender for the 179 in-flight refueling tankers. This decision, no doubt difficult for the partner of the EADS group, is apparently final.
Wes Bush, chief executive of “NG,” with no apparent bitterness, firmly and precisely justified the company’s decision. The method chosen by the Department of Defense to compare the two potential competitors, the KC-767A and the KC-45A, clearly tipped the balance in favor of Boeing’s smaller airplane, he explained, making unbiased competition impossible.

G2 Solutions @ March 11, 2010

AvWeek: EADS Was Unable To Prime On KC-X

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As we stated during our podcast with IAG on tuesday,  EADS is simply not yet in a position to go after a program such as KC-X.

EADS North America Chief Executive Officer Sean O’Keefe says that while his company has built up its capacity to manage its first Pentagon prime contract — the UH-72A helicopter — its abilities are not mature enough to justify going it alone on a bid for the massive U.S. Air Force KC-X tanker contract.

G2 Solutions @ March 11, 2010

DoDBuzz: China Drives AirSea Battle

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In the early 1980s, the Army, with Air Force cooperation, came up with a warfighting concept known as AirLand Battle designed to rain punishing ground and air strikes on Soviet shock armies before they could steamroll NATO defenses. Today, the military is formulating a new concept called AirSea Battle designed to counter China’s rapidly growing arsenal of anti-access and area-denial (A2/AD) weapons, such as aircraft carrier killing ballistic missiles, sea-skimming missiles, stealthy submarines, bristling air-defense networks, anti-satellite and cyber weaponry.

G2 Solutions @ March 10, 2010

AvWeek: US-Europe trade war looms in wake of air tanker decision

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The specter of a US-Europe, Boeing/Airbus trade war has risen its ugly head again in the wake of the decision by Northrop-Grumann and EADS to pull out of the US Air Force tanker competition. Senior European government officials are blaming Washington for forcing the decision which the partners made after deciding the request for proposal was biased towards the Boeing aircraft.

G2 Solutions @ March 10, 2010

A400M in Toulouse

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G2 Solutions @ March 10, 2010

Flight: UAL confirms A350

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United Airlines has firmed its order for 25 Airbus A350-900s, taking the order backlog for the twin-jet family to 530 aircraft.

Photo: Airbus

G2 Solutions @ March 10, 2010

KC-X: The Aftermath

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G2 Solutions @ March 9, 2010

Herald: Aerospace tax credits go unused in Washington state

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Despite attempts by Washington lawmakers to ease taxes for aerospace companies, a surprising few take advantage of the incentives.

In an attempt to land the Boeing Co.’s 787 jet line in 2003, lawmakers passed a series of tax breaks for aerospace companies valued at $3.2 billion. Companies couldn’t cash in on some of those breaks until 2005. But even five years later, only 34 percent of Washington’s aerospace companies claim the tax credits available to them.

G2 Solutions @ March 8, 2010