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Final RfP for tanker contract next month

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz said Wednesday he expects the final request for proposals in the $35 billion KC-X tanker competition will be released in February, with only modest changes to the requirements listed in the draft RfP that was put out in September.

The final solicitation was supposed to have been released in early December. However, last fall Pentagon officials decided to delay its release until mid-January so they could discuss the RfP with competitors Boeing and Northrop Grumman-EADS. This came as Northrop claimed the cost-focused document was written in favor of Boeing’s 767-based bid over Northrop’s larger Airbus A330-based plane.

Northrop has threatened to drop out of the competition unless the solicitation is changed significantly to take into account the increased performance of its larger, more expensive plane.

The final RfP will likely feature changes to the contracting structure that will result in less financial risk for the winning competitor. Both competitors have complained about the fixed price nature of the contract laid out in the draft RfP.