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Work starts on Air Force’s almost-tankers

Most of Washington continues to wait for the Government Accountability Office findings on the Air Force’s $35 billion tanker deal, but Airbus employees in France aren’t waiting.

The second would-be tanker rolled off the assembly line in Toulouse and completed flight checks May 15, joining the aircraft designated SDD-1, which first flew in September, in line to receive in-flight refueling gear.

The Air Force chose the modified A330 by Northrop Grumman and EADS, Airbus’ European parent, over the 767 offered by Boeing for the 179-plane, $35 billion contract.

The Feb. 29 decision drew fire from American lawmakers, especially ones from Boeing strongholds in Washington state and Kansas.

A rare protest from Boeing has the deal frozen; the GAO has until June 19 to report with its recommendations. Airbus cannot begin tanker-izing its aircraft because of the protest, but it has decided to begin production anyway.

Airbus has also secured tanker contracts with Australia, Britain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, so the planes might find homes even if GAO rules against the Air Force decision.

“This is not building for one customer,” said aerospace analyst Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group, Fairfax, Va. “There’s no doubt some risk, but I doubt it’s much.”

Northrop and EADS have even scheduled a June 28 groundbreaking for the Mobile, Ala., tanker plant they promised to build — along with a neighboring facility to construct the cargo variant — before winning the contract.

House and Senate authorizers trod lightly on the tanker dispute as they laid out the 2009 defense spending bills, though not everyone in Washington is content to wait for GAO.

Two appropriators continued their campaign against the decision with a letter to Air Force acquisition czar Sue Payton demanding an independent cost assessment of both aircraft.

The letter cited a May 8 hearing by the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on military construction, at which “it was revealed that the Air Force did not include accurate military construction costs for the two proposals.”

At the hearing, Kathleen Ferguson, deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, testified that no one from her office was involved in the tanker source selection process and that the cost of new hangars, ramps and taxiways for either plane has not been determined.

With Air Force officials prevented by law from disclosing information or even discussing in detail contracts under protest, any reports to Congress before the GAO ruling are unlikely.

Air Force officials were unable to comment by press time.