미 공군 KC-X 사업, Boeing KC-7A7 이 되어야 하는 이유 8가지...

 

미 퇴역 공군 준장이 켄사스州 지역신문에 기고한 글 입니다. 제목에서 처럼, 현재 미 공군이 추진하고 있는 차기공중급유기 도입

사업 (KC-X) 에서 미국 보잉사의 KC-7A7 을 도입해야 한다고 주장하는 글 입니다.

 

보잉사의 KC-7A7 (보잉 767 혹은 777 기반) 을 도입해야 하는 6가지 이유와, Northrop Grumman/EADS 연합의 A330MRTT 도입

은 안되는 2가지 이유, 모두 8가지 의견을 밝힌 내용입니다.

 

미국의 입장에서, 미 예비역 공군 준장의 입장에서 개인 의견을 지역신문에 기고한 글로 이해하시면 될 듯 합니다.

 

현재 보잉이 개발한 KC-767 은 이탈리아와 일본이 2002년과 2003년 각각 4대씩 도입계약을 체결한 바 있습니다. 1년늦게 계약한

일본은 지난 1월 8일 4호기가 최종 일본 항공자위대에 전달되므로써 전력화가 마무리 되었습니다만, Launch Customer (첫 고객)

의 위치로 계약한 이탈리아는 2010년 1월 현재 여전히 개발/시험비행이 진행되고 있습니다.

 

그 이유는, 일본의 경우 동체 후방에 Boom 방식의 급유장치만을 적용한 반면, 이탈리아는 동체 후방에 Boom & Hose-drogue 를 

적용하면서 주익 양쪽에는 또다시 Boom & Hose-drogue Pod 를 적용하는 과정에서 발생한 기술적인 문제를 아직 해결하지 못한

결과입니다. 경쟁기종인 Airbus 사의 A330MRTT 가 호주와 영국, 독일 그리고 사우디아라비아와 공급 계약을 맺고 순조로운 제작

이 이루어지는 것과 비교된다 하겠습니다.

 

보잉과 Airbus 사 공중급유기에 대한 설명은 이곳을 참조하시면 됩니다. --->  Boeing KC-7A7  &  Airbus A330MRTT

 

아래 소개하는 사진은 이탈리아 공군이 주문한 KC-767 1호기의 (14-01) 시험비행 장면이며, Flight International 에서 제공하는

상세도를 첨부합니다.

 

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Opinion: Top 8 reasons to pick Boeing tanker

Wichita Eagle    01/24/2010

Author: Thomas C. Pinckney

 

After several fits and starts, the Air Force is finally set to bid out a $40 billion contract to build a fleet of aerial refueling tankers to replace our current Eisenhower-era fleet. Two companies are in the running to build the tankers — Boeing and Airbus, which is based in Toulouse, France. Boeing looks ready to build a tanker based on its 767 airliner, while Airbus likely will offer a tanker based on its A330 airliner.

 

While there are arguments for choosing either plane, here are my top eight reasons for keeping the contract in American hands:

 

* Experience. Boeing has been building America's tankers for the past 50 years, and is now producing its fifth-generation refueling boom. Airbus is not fully operational with its first tanker or its first boom.

 

* Time. Boeing has a factory producing 767s right now, while Airbus plans to ship A330 parts to be assembled in a yet-to-be-built facility in Alabama, which could delay the program for another five years.

 

* Size. While the A330 is too large and heavy to land on many U.S. and allied airfields, the 767 can access the same bases as our current fleet. That makes the Boeing plane more available, and cheaper, because the larger A330 would require large military construction costs for reinforcing and widening runways and building larger hangars.

 

* Safety. Airbus' A330 is too large and heavy to perform emergency breakaway and overrun maneuvers critical to the safety of the refueling process, while Boeing's medium-sized 767 is sized and powered appropriately for these maneuvers. Additionally, the larger, less-agile A330 presents an easier target for an enemy.

 

* Security. Airbus and its parent company, European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., are loyal to their own national interests, not ours. If EADS' parent governments disagree with U.S. military policy, if they are threatened by an enemy for providing military assistance to the United States, or if they decide to seek profits by sharing our tanker technology with governments that may be hostile to the United States, our national-security interest could suffer.

 

* Reliability. Will Airbus stick to the terms of the contract or charge more down the road? Citing Germany's largest newspaper, Bloomberg's Cornelius Rahn reported this month that "Airbus is putting pressure on governments that have ordered its A400M transport plane to contribute more money to the financing of the project.... Airbus wants about 5.3 billion euros ($7.6 billion) more than the 20 billion euros agreed on in 2003 in order to deliver 180 of the military transports."

 

If Airbus is willing to shake down its own governments at the last minute for an additional 40 percent, what makes us believe the U.S. Air Force will not receive a similar ultimatum?

 

* Subsidies. The World Trade Organization recently ruled that Airbus has taken billions of dollars in illegal trade subsidies from European governments that were specifically intended to make Airbus' prices competitive with Boeing. Such subsidies violate our free-trade agreements and certainly our sense of fair play. If we ignore such blatant violations of our free-trade agreements, it will only serve to encourage other countries to cheat their way into U.S. military contracts.

 

* Industry. The American industrial base is challenged on many fronts. And while we must adapt to the global economy and be competitive within it, we must also be judicious in maintaining an industrial base when it comes to vital strategic programs. Certainly we would not outsource nuclear-missile production to a foreign government. Are the tankers that keep us a global military power any less important?

 

Airbus may yet surprise us with some spectacular deal on an airplane we haven't heard about. But unless and until that happens, these eight reasons are enough to convince this retired Air Force pilot to go with what we know.

 

Retired Brig. Gen. Thomas C. Pinckney of Alexandria, Va., served in the U.S. Air Force for nearly 30 years.

 

  ⓒ Andrew W. Sieber