Boeing was happy to announce today that building the NewGen Tanker would support 100 jobs in North Carolina and generate $5 million in annual economic investment, if the Air Force selects us to build the new generation of aerial refueling aircraft.  

Supplying everything from titanium components to transmissions, the North Carolina suppliers that have joined Boeing’s United States Tanker Team include the following:

• Allegheny Technologies, Monroe
• Curtiss-Wright Flight Systems, Shelby
• Kidde Aerospace, Wilson
• Purolator Facet, Greensboro

The innovation and hard work of these suppliers from the state that was the “First in Flight” will help boost North Carolina’s economy at a time when many small businesses across the country are struggling.  Boeing is proud that building the NewGen Tanker will present a critical opportunity for these suppliers to support local jobs and plant the seeds for the state’s continuing aerospace future.  

Click here to read the full press release on North Carolina’s contribution to Boeing’s United States Tanker Team.  Boeing employs nearly 300 people in North Carolina and works with some 220 suppliers and vendors, generating an estimated $201 million in annual economic impact.  

Every two years, the global aerospace industry descends upon a beautiful airfield in the southern English town of Farnborough, just west of London, for a week of big announcements, aerial demonstrations, and cutting edge prototypes.

In that spirit, we have traveled to the 2010 Farnborough International Air Show to unveil to the world the future of aerial refueling. We traveled here to tell the story of the NewGen Tanker: an aircraft that delivers maximum capability at a minimum cost. It's a story of the right-sized airframe outfitted with state-of-the-art refueling, survivability, and flight deck technologies. It's a story of experience, flexibility, and a proven aircraft that will be Combat-Ready on Day One.

 

Today, Boeing executive Chuck Johnson delivered this story to attendees of the Farnborough International Air Show. Chuck Johnson is the Vice President for Mobility, C3/Networks and Support Systems and a 36-year U.S. Air Force veteran, retiring at the rank of Lt. General having flown tankers, commanded tanker crews, and worked in Air Force acquisitions. Mr. Johnson has a unique understanding of the tanker mission from soup to nuts, and knows how new aircraft shape our military's capabilities.

Click here to listen to Chuck Johnson's Farnborough presentation on the Boeing NewGen Tanker

After screening the video embedded above, Johnson laid out the facts of why Boeing's 767-based NewGen Tanker is the best choice for the new generation of American aerial refueling tankers.

Click here to download Chuck Johnson's Farnborough PowerPoint presentation on the Boeing NewGen Tanker (PDF/3MB).

Johnson described how the Boeing NewGen Tanker is the "right-sized" replacement for the Air Force's current fleet of KC-135's - how it can deliver more fuel from more runways to more aircraft around the world. He described how the NewGen Tanker is the only tanker with the combat survivability technologies to operate safely from austere air bases close to war zones. He also noted that the NewGen Tanker is the only tanker that is truly ready now, based on Boeing's extensive experience testing and certifying the operational 767 tankers already delivered to Japan.

Drawing on his experience as a commander, Johnson talked about how deploying more tankers from smaller, forward-operating bases, was the key to getting the mission done under tough circumstances. Putting more "booms in the sky" made the difference - not the size of each tanker aircraft.

Take a look at slides 13 and 19 - for those of you that have flown tankers or large cargo aircraft, you know that it will be very difficult to use the giant European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company's A330 tanker aircraft effectively; it won't fit on bases with limited space, can't land and take off from smaller airstrips, and isn't fuel efficient considering that tankers rarely offload all of their gas during a single mission. In fact, the A330 tanker is 27 percent larger than current KC-10 tankers but carries 100,000 pounds less gas.

Johnson emphasized that Boeing's 767-based NewGen Tanker was the "right sized" tanker to replace the KC-135, offering significant improvements in operational capability in every category. According to Johnson, "more, more, more" is measured in warfighter capabilities, not in larger size. That means more operational flexibility, more booms in the air, more fuel to more aircraft, more refueling orbits, more cargo delivered, and more velocity. It also means a smaller footprint and fewer operating and support costs.

This is the story of Boeing's NewGen Tanker: more capabilities, less cost.  It's a simple story that will change the game of aerial refueling for the U.S. and its allies over the next several decades. We've told the Air Force this story through our proposal. Now, from a small airstrip in England, we've told the world, too.

Today, Boeing proudly unveiled a brand new video that highlights our aerial refueling tanker history and highlights our NewGen Tanker story.  Take a look for yourself:

The video was featured at our NewGen tanker briefing at the prestigious Farnborough International Airshow, which is being held this week outside London. Farnborough offers Boeing another chance to show the U.S. Air Force and the world how the NewGen Tanker is the combat-ready, multi-role tanker that is best suited to meet the Air Force's future refueling requirements at the lowest cost to the warfighter.

As the video makes clear, Boeing is honored to have helped write aerial refueling history. With the NewGen tanker, Boeing is poised to be part of its future as well.

Come back to UnitedStatesTanker.com soon to read more about our visit to Farnborough and the briefing held there today, which features the video.

Workers at Pratt & Whitney’s facilities in Connecticut recently cheered Boeing’s plans to build the NewGen Tanker using engines manufactured at its East and West Hartford facilities. Building the engines for the NewGen Tanker would support jobs for many workers in the Hartford area.  

“This is about the resurgence of American aerospace leadership and American innovation,” Connecticut Representative John Larson told the attendees. “This is about our way of life and our future. Invest in the tanker, invest in America, invest in American jobs."

While workers at Pratt & Whitney rallied for Boeing’s NewGen Tanker in Connecticut, machinists in Everett, Washington, celebrated the submission of Boeing’s bid for the tanker contract along with members of Congress.  

 

Sen. Patty Murray, who hosted the event at the Everett Machinists Hall 751, welcomed attendees, stating, "After a long, hard battle, today is the day we've been waiting for. It's an opportunity to prove to the Pentagon that you are the best trained, best skilled, best prepared aerospace  workers in the world." Senator Murray was joined at the event by U.S. Representatives Norm Dicks, Jay Inslee, Rick Larsen, and Jim McDermott.

As workers rallied on both coasts, Boeing submitted its tanker bid to the U.S. Air Force, offering its 767-based NewGen Tanker, the most capable, survivable, and combat-ready  tanker at the lowest cost to the taxpayer. We couldn’t have achieved this lofty goal without the help of our world class workforce and nationwide network of outstanding suppliers. Thank you!

Today, Boeing is proud to announce that 1,100 workers in Illinois would help build the NewGen Tanker if awarded the Air Force tanker contract. Many of these workers are employed by the excellent Illinois aerospace suppliers that have recently joined the United States Tanker Team, including:

• Elecsys Division of DCX Chol, Pekin
• Hamilton Sundstrand, Rockford
• Northrop Grumman, Rolling Meadows
• Rexnord, Downers Grove
• Scot, Downers Grove
• SKF Aerospace Sealing Solution, Elgin
• Woodward MPC, Skokie.

The tanker contract alone would contribute $57 million annually to the Illinois economy, bringing in critical new investment during tough economic times.

Headquartered in Chicago and directly employing more than 600 people across the state, Boeing is deeply committed to Illinois and its world-class cadre of independent aerospace suppliers. Boeing’s business in Illinois generates a total $714 million in economic impact each year.

Click here to read the full press release about how Illinois workers would help build the Boeing NewGen Tanker.

Today was a big day for the United States Tanker Team.

Today, we hand-delivered our 8,000-page NewGen Tanker proposal to the KC-X program office at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.

The Boeing NewGen Tanker proposal offers an American-made, 767-based multi-mission tanker that will satisfy all 372 mandatory Air Force requirements and be capable, survivable, and combat-ready at the lowest cost to the taxpayer.  The proposal was created by an integrated “One Boeing” team of people from various sites across the company, including employees from the Commercial Aircraft; Defense, Space & Security; and Engineering, Operations & Technology organizations.

Speaking about the NewGen Tanker’s capabilities, President and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space and Security Dennis Muilenburg said that “this revolutionary tanker will deliver widebody capabilities in a narrowbody footprint, operate in any theater or from any base, and – with the lowest operating cost of any tanker in the competition – save the Air Force and the American taxpayers billions of dollars."

According to James Albaugh, president and CEO, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Boeing is the only company with the “rich experience” to deliver this unique package of maximum capability and low cost. "With our Boeing commercial and defense teams and a proven supplier network, we have delivered more than 1,000 commercial derivative aircraft to U.S. government customers and military customers around the world. Add to that our experience as the only company to deliver a combat-tested aerial refueling boom, and we are ready to provide the right tanker for the Air Force and the best value for taxpayers," said Mr. Albaugh.

Today is a proud day for Boeing and its American family of suppliers and supporters.  Thank you for all you’ve done to make this proposal possible.

Click here to read Boeing’s full press release on the bid submission.